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Prince  ]_ittle  B^"^ 


AND 


OTHER    TALES 


OUT   OF 


FAIRY-LAND. 


RY 


S.  WEIR    MITCHELL,  M.D.,  LL.D.  Harv., 

AL'THOK    OF    "hETHZIBAH    GUINNESS,"    "  IN   WAR   TIME,"    "  KOLAND    BLAKE,"    ETC. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

J.    B.    L  I  P  P  I  X  C  O  T  T    COMPANY. 

I  SS8. 


Copyright,  1887,  by  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company. 


p  >1^ 


TO    I^IY 

NEPHEWS    AND    NIECES 

I    DEDICATE 

THESE    TALES. 


M5o0428 


PREFACE. 

— -^1-1^ — 

XN  1864  I  wrote  certain  stories  which  made  part  of  a  little 
book  called  "The  Children's  Hour,"  published  to  aid  the 
Sanitary  Commission  Fair  in  Philadelphia.  It  has  been  ever 
since  a  favorite  in  many  homes,  and  is  out  of  print.  Some- 
what later,  to  help  the  Children's  Hospital,  I  wrote  the  story 
of  Fuz-Buz,  the  Fly.  These  small  volumes,  which  have  gone 
through  several  editions,  I  am  now  glad  to  claim  as  my  own. 
I  have  added  certain  stories  of  recent  date,  and  ask  for  the 
collection  the  approval  of  the  nursery  critics,  whose  favor  I 
have  long  possessed. 

S.  WEIR   MITCHELL. 


CONTENTS. 


■^M^ 


Prince  Little  Boy  .....•• 

King  Bear        ......•• 

Mrs.  Gr.abem  and  Fuz-buz 

Lady  Golden  Hair  and  her  Two  Lovers,   Prince 
Prince  Sturdy  ..... 

Cold  Country 

The  Fountain  of  Youth         .... 

Krusstikuss  and  Growlegrum 

Mustapha,  or  the  Musical  Gourd    . 

WoGO 

Prince  Lazy  Boots  and  the  Peck  of  Troubles 

The  Curly  Fish 

The  Wolf  that  Wanted  a  Doctor 

Old  Wine  in  a  New  Bottle 

Real  Magic 

The  Tale  of  the  Great  Giant,  Smokey  Pokey     . 


Clever  and 


7 
17 

22 

27 
39 
43 
60 

74 
89 

93 
io6 
132 

139 
146 

153 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


•^i-i^ 


The  Princess  Elula  and  the  Lily-Flowers 

The  Princess  at  the  Tower   . 

King  Bear  and  the  Orphans 

Mrs.  Grabem  and  her  Children 

Lady  Golden  Hair 

At  the  Manitou's  Hut  . 

Krustikuss  and  iHE  Princess. 

LeLIE    carried    off    by    THE    SLAVES 

WoGO  and  the  Ice  God  . 

Prince  Lazy  Boots  and  the  Giants 

The  Wolf  that  wanted  a  Doctor 


Frontispiece 
page      14 

-  19 
"  22 
"        27 

-  40 
68 

"  77 
"        90 

"  97 
"      i3« 


PRINCE  LITTLE   BOY. 

— -^i-i^ — 

A  GREAT  many  children  live  on  the  borders  of  Fairy-land 
and  never  visit  it  at  all,  and  really  there  are  people 
who  grow  up  and  are  not  very  unhappy  who  will 
not  believe  they  have  lived  near  to  it  all  their  lives.  But  if 
once  you  have  been  in  that  pleasant  country  you  never 
quite  forget  it,  and  when  some  stupid  man  says  "  It  is  all  stuff 
and  nonsense,"  you  do  not  say  much,  even  if  you  yourself  have 
come  to  be  an  old  fellow  with  hair  of  two  colors,  but  you 
feel  proud  to  know  how  much  more  you  have  seen  of  the 
world  than  he  has.  Children  are  the  best  travellers  in  Fairy- 
land, and  there  also  is  another  kingdom  which  is  easy  for  them 
to  reach  and  hard  for  some  older  folks. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  small  boy  who  lived  so 
near  to  Fairy-land  that  he  sometimes  got  over  the  fence 
and  inside  of  that  lovely  country,  but,  being  a  litde  afraid, 
never  went  very  far,  and  was  quick  to  run  home  if  he  saw 
Blue  Beard  or  an  Ogre  or  even  Goody  Two-Shoes.  Once  or 
twice  he  went  a  little  farther,  and  saw  things  which  may  be 
seen  but  can  never  be  written. 

Sometimes  he  told  his  father  that  he  had  been  into  Fairy- 
land ;  but  his  father,  who  was  a  brick-maker  and  lived  in  the 
wood,  only  laughed,  and  cried  aloud,  "  Next  time  you  go,  be 

7 


8 


PRINCE   LITTLE  BOY. 


sure  to  fetch  back  some  fairy  money."  One  day  the  small 
boy,  whose  real  name  was  Little  Boy,  told  his  father  that  he 
had  gone  a  mile  into  Fairy-land,  and  that  there  the  people 
were  born  old  and  grew  younger  all   the  time,  and   that  on 

this  account  the  hands 
of  their  clocks  went 
backwards.  When  his 
father  heard  this,  he 
said  that  boy  was  only 
fit  to  sing  songs  and  be 
in  the  sun,  and  would 
never  make  bricks 
worth  a  penny.  Then 
he  added,  sharply,  that 
his  son  must  g-et  to 
work  at  once  and  stop 
ofoine  over  the  fence 
to  Fairy-land.  So,  after 
that,  Little  Boy  was  set 
to  dig  clay  and  make 
bricks  for  a  palace  which  the  King  was  building.  He  made 
a  great  many  bricks  of  all  colors,  and  did  seem  to  work  so 
very  hard  that  his  father  began  to  think  he  might  in  time 
come  to  make  the  best  of  bricks.  But  if  you  are  making 
bricks  you  must  not  even  be  thinking  of  fairies,  because  some- 
thing is  sure  to  get  into  the  bricks  and  spoil  them  for  building 
anything  except  a  Spanish  castle  or  a  palace  of  Aladdin. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  while   Little  Boy  made  bricks   and 
patted  them  well  and  helped  to  bake  them  hard  he  was  for- 


PRINCE   LITTLE   BOY. 


ever  thinking  of  a  fairy  who  had  kissed  him  one  day  in  the 
wood.  This  was  a  very  strange  fairy,  large,  with  white  limbs, 
and  eyes  which  were  full  of  joy  for  a  child,  but  to  such  as  be- 
ing old  looked  upon  them,  were,  as  the  poet  says,  "  lakes  of 
sadness."  Perhaps,  being  little,  you  who  read  can  understand 
this.  I  cannot ;  but  whoever  has  once  seen  this  fairy  loves 
the  sun  and  the  woods  and  all  living  creatures,  and  knows 
things  without  being  taught,  and  what  men  will  say  before  they 
say  it.  Yet,  while  he  knows  all  these  strange  things,  and  what 
birds  talk  about,  and  what  songs  the  winds  sing  to  the  trees, 
he  can  never  make  good  bricks.  And  this  was  why  Little 
Boy's  bricks  were  badly  made  ;  on  account  of  which  the  King's 
palace,  having  many  poor  bricks  in  it,  fell  down  one  fine 
day  and  ci-acked  the  crowns  of  twenty-three  courtiers  and 
had  like  to  have  killed  the  King  himself.  This  made  the 
King  very  angry,  so  he  put  on  his  crown  and  said  wicked 
words,  and  told  everybody  he  would  give  one  hundred  pieces 
of  gold  to  whoever  would  find  the  person  who  had  made  the 
bad  bricks.  When  Little  Boy's  father  heard  this,  he  knew  it 
must  have  been  his  son  who  was  to  blame.  So  he  told  his 
son  that  he  had  been  very  careless,  and  that  surely  the  King 
would  kill  him,  and  that  the  best  thing  he  could  do  would  be 
to  run  away  and  hide  in  Fairy-land.  Little  Boy  was  very 
badly  scared,  and  was  well  pleased  when  his  mother  had  put 
some  cakes  and  apples  in  a  bag  and  slung  it  over  his  shoulder 
and  told  him  to  run  quickly  away ;  and  this  he  was  glad  to 
do,  because  he  saw  the  King's  soldiers  coming  over  the  hill  to 
take  him.  When  they  came  to  his  father's  house  his  father 
told  them  that  it  was  his  son  who  had  made  the  bad  bricks. 


lO  PRINCE  LITTLE   BOY. 

After  hearing  this,  they  let  the  man  go,  and  went  after  Little 
Boy.  As  their  legs  were  long  and  his  were  short,  they  soon 
got  very  near  to  him,  and  he  had  just  time  to  scramble  over 
the  fence  into  Fairy-land.  Then  the  soldiers  began  to  get 
over  the  fence,  too ;  but  at  this  moment  the  giant  Fee-Faw- 
Fum  came  out  of  the  wood,  and  said,  in  a  voice  that  was  as 
loud  as  the  roar  of  the  winds  of  a  winter  night,  "  What  do 
you  want  here  ?"  This  gave  them  such  a  fright  that  they 
all  sat  there  in  a  row  on  top  of  the  fence  like  sparrows,  and 
could  not  move  for  a  week.  You  may  be  sure  Litde  Boy  did 
not  stop  to  look  at  them,  but  ran  away,  far  away  into  Fairy- 
land. Of  course,  he  soon  got  lost,  because  in  the  geographies 
there  is  not  a  word  about  Fairy-land,  and  nobody  knows  even 
what  bounds  it  on  the  north. 

It  is  sad  to  be  lost,  but  not  in  Fairy-land.  The  sooner  you 
lose  yourself,  the  happier  you  are.  And  then  such  queer  things 
chance  to  you, — things  no  one  could  dream  would  happen. 
Mostly  it  is  the  children  for  whom  they  occur,  and  the  grown- 
up person  who  is  quite  happy  in  this  joyous  land  is  not  otten 
to  be  met  with.  Perhaps  you  think  I  will  tell  you  all  about 
the  fairy  country.  Not  I,  indeed.  I  have  been  there  in  my 
time  ;  but  my  travels  there  I  cannot  write,  or  else  I  might  never 
be  allowed  to  return  again. 

By  and  by  Little  Boy  grew  tired  and  went  into  a  deep  wood 
and  there  sat  down  and  ate  a  cake,  and  sav/  very  soon  that  the 
squirrels  were  throwing  him  nuts  from  the  trees.  Of  course, 
as  he  was  in  Fairy-land,  this  was  just  what  one  might  have  ex- 
pected. He  tried  to  crack  the  nuts  with  his  teeth,  but  could 
not,  and  this  troubled  the  squirrels  so  much  that  presently  nine 


PRINCE   LITTLE   BOY.  U 

of  them  came  down  and  sat  around  him  and  began  to  crack 
nuts  for  him  and  to  laugh. 

When  Little  Boy  had  finished  his  meal,  he  lay  down  and 
tried  to  go  to  sleep,  for  it  was  pleasant  and  warm,  and  the 
moss  was  soft  to  lie  upon,  and  strange  birds  came  and  went 
and  sang  love-songs.  But  just  as  he  was  almost  asleep  he 
was  shaken  quite  roughly,  and  when  he  looked  up  saw  a 
beautiful  Prince. 

"  Ho  !  ho  !"  said  the  Prince,  "  I  heard  you  getting  ready  to 
snore.     A  moment  more  and  I  should  have  been  too  late." 

"  How  is  that?"  said  Litde  Boy,  "and  who  are  you  ?" 

"  Sir,  I  am  Fine  Ear,  and  before  things  happen  I  hear  them. 
Do  not  you  know.  Fair  Sir"  (this  is  the  way  fairies  speak), 
"  that  if  you  fall  asleep  the  first  day  that  you  are  in  Fairy-land, 
it  is  years  before  you  wake  ?    Some  people  don't  wake." 

Little  Boy  felt  that  he  was  in  high  society,  so  he  said, 
politely, — 

"  Gracious  Prince,  a  million  thanks ;  but  how  can  I  keep 
awake  ?" 

"It  is  only  for  one  night,  young  sir.  Come  with  me.  My 
sister,  Goody  Two-Shoes,  lives  close  by,  and  she  may  help  us." 

So  they  went  along  through  the  twilight  and  walked  far, 
until  Litde  Boy  was  ready  to  drop.  At  last  Fine  Ear  said 
that  as  he  heard  his  sister  breathing,  she  could  not  be  more 
than  three  miles  away.  As  they  climbed  a  great  hill,  it  became 
dark,  and  Little  Boy  grew  more  and  more  sleepy,  and  could 
not  see  his  way,  and  tumbled  about  so  much  that  at  last  the 
Prince  stood  still  and  said,  "  My  dear  fellow,  this  won't  do ;  you 
will  be   in    Dream-land   before   I   can   pinch  you."    Then   he 


12  PRINCE  LITTLE  BOY. 

whistled,  and  a  little  silver  star — a  shining  white  light — fell  out 
of  the  fairy  sky  and  rolled  beside  them,  making  all  the  road 
as  bright  as  day,  and  quite  waking  up  Little  Boy.  After  this 
they  walked  on,  and  the  Prince  said  he  would  ask  Jack  the 
Giant-killer  to  supper.  Little  Boy  replied  that  he  would  be 
proud  to  meet  him.  Just  as  they  came  near  to  the  house, 
which  was  built  of  pearls  and  rubies,  the  Prince  said,  "  Alas  ! 
here  comes  that  tiresome  fool,  Humpty  Dumpty."  When 
Little  Boy  looked,  he  saw  a  short  man  very  crooked  in  the 
back,  and  with  a  head  all  to  one  side,  not  having  been  well 
mended  by  the  doctors,  as  you  may  recall.  Also  his  mouth 
was  very  large,  which  was  a  pity,  because  when  he  stopped 
before  them  and  bowed  in  a  polite  way,  all  of  a  sudden  he 
opened  this  great  mouth  and  gaped ;  and  when  poor,  sleepy 
Little  Boy  saw  this,  what  could  he  do  but  gape  for  company, 
and  at  once  fall  down  sound  asleep  before  the  kind  Prince 
could  move  ? 

"Alas!  fool,"  said  Fine  Ear,  "why  must  you  gape  at  a 
mortal  ?  You  knew  what  would  happen.  It  was  lucky  you 
did  not  sneeze." 

Meanwhile,  there  lay  Little  Boy  sound  asleep,  and  what 
was  to  be  done?  At  last  he  was  carried  into  the  house  of 
Goody  Two-Shoes  and  put  on  a  bed.  Every  one  knew  that  he 
could  not  be  waked  up,  and  so  they  put  fairy  food  in  his  mouth 
twice  a  day,  and  just  let  him  alone,  so  that  for  several  years  he 
slept  soundly,  and  by  reason  of  being  fed  with  fairy  food  grew 
tall  and  beautiful ;  what  was  more  strange,  his  clothes  grew  also. 

At  the  end  of  seven  years  a  great  Sayer  of  Sooth  came  by 
on  his  way  to  visit  his  fairy  godmother,  and  when  he  heard 


PRINCE  LITTLE  BOY.  1 3 

about  Little  Boy's  sleep  he  stood  still  and  uttered  a  loud 
Sooth.  When  Goody  Two-Shoes  heard  it  she  was  sorry, 
because  it  was  told  her  that  Litde  Boy  would  never  wake 
until  he  was  carried  back  to  the  country  of  mortals,  when  he 
would  wake  up  at  once.  Now  by  this  time  she  had  come  to 
love  him  very  much,  and  was  sorry  to  part  with  him,  because 
in  seven  years  he  had  never  spoken  one  cross  word ! 

But  Sooths  must  be  obeyed ;  so  she  sent  for  a  gende  giant, 
and  told  him  to  carry  Litde  Boy  to  the  Queen's  tailor  and  to 
dress  him  like  a  fairy  Prince,  and  to  set  him  down  on  the  road- 
side near  his  father's  house.  Then  when  the  giant  took  him 
up  in  his  great  arms,  all  sound  asleep,  she  put  around 
Litde  Boy's  neck  a  fairy  kiss  tied  fast  to  a  gold  chain,  and  this 
was  for  o-ood  luck.  After  this  the  giant  walked  away,  and 
Goody  Two-Shoes  went  into  the  house  and  cried  for  two  days 
and  a  night. 

When  the  giant  came  to  Common-Folks'-land,  he  laid  Litde 
Boy  beside  the  high-road  and  went  home.  Towards  evening, 
the  King's  daughter  went  by,  and  seeing  Litde  Boy,  who,  as  I 
have  said,  was  now  grown  tall  and  dressed  all  in  velvet 
and  jewels,  she  came  and  stood  by  him,  and  when  she  saw  the 
fairy  kiss  hanging  around  his  neck  she  knelt  down  and  kissed 
him.  Then  all  the  old  ladies  cried  "  Fy  !  for  shame  !"  but  you 
know  she  could  not  help  it.  As  for  Litde  Boy,  he  kept  ever 
so  still,  being  now  wide  awake,  but  having  hopes  that  she 
would  kiss  him  again,  which  she  did,  twice.  As  he  sdll  seemed 
to  sleep,  he  was  put  in  the  Princess's  chariot  and  taken  to  the 
King's  palace.  There  the  Princess  told  how  he  had  been 
found  at  the   roadside,  and  said   that  he  must  be  in  an   en- 


14  PRINCE   LITTLE   BOY. 


chanted  sleep,  and  begged  to  have  him  put  in  the  Museum ! 
At  last,  when  every  one  had  looked  at  him,  they  put  him  on  a 
bed,  and  when  morning  came  he  opened  his  eyes,  and  began 
to  walk  around  to  stretch  his  legs.  But  as  he  went  down- 
stairs he  met  the  King,  who  said  to  him,  "  Fair  Sir,  what  is 
the  name  of  thy  beautiful  self?"  To  which  he  answered :  "  I 
am  called  Prince  Little  Boy."  "Ha!  ha!"  said  the  King. 
•'  That  was  the  name  of  the  bad  brick-maker.  Perchance  thou 
art  he."  Then  he  called  his  guards,  and  Litde  Boy  was  at 
once  shut  up  in  a  huge  tower,  for  the  King  was  not  quite  sure, 
or  else  he  would  have  put  him  to  death  at  once.  But  after 
Litde  Boy  had  been  there  three  days  he  put  his  head  out  of  a 
window  and  saw  the  Princess  in  the  garden.  Then  he  said, — 
"  Sweet  lady,  look  up." 

"  Alas !"  said  she,  "  they  have  sent  for  thy  mother,  and  if 
she  says  thou  art  Litde  Boy  they  will  kill  thee,  and,  alas !  I 
love  thee." 

"  Ah  !"  he  cried,  "  come  to  this  tower  at  midnight,  and  cast 
me  kisses  a  many  through  the  night ;  blow  a  kiss  to  the  north, 
blow  a  kiss  to  the  south,  to  the  east,  to  the  west,  from  the 
flower  of  thy  mouth,  and  it  may  be  that  one  will  float  to  Fairy- 
land and  fetch  us  help,  for  if  not,  I  be  but  a  dead  man." 

All  this  she  did  because  she  was  brave  and  loved  him.  She 
stood  in  the  dark  and  blew  kisses  to  the  four  winds,  and 
then  listened,  and  by  and  by  came  a  noise  like  great  wings, 
and  all  the  air  was  filled  with  strange,  sweet  odors,  the  like  of 
which  that  Princess  never  smelled  again.  At  these  things, 
being  now  afraid,  she  tucked  up  her  skirts  and  ran  away 
swiftly. 


■_   r^^ 


PRIXCE   LITTLE  BOY. 


15 


-;7>  . 


w 


\ 


As  for  Little  Boy,  he  was  aware  of  a  giant  who  was  as  tall 
as  the  tower.  "  Sir,"  said  the  giant,  "  it  is  told  me  that  you  must 
keep  your  eyes  shut  until  I  bid 
them  to  open.  I  have  brought 
the  Kiss  Queen  to  pay  you  a 
visit.  No  man  has  ever  seen 
her ;  for  if  he  did  he  could 
never,  never  kiss  or  be  kissed 
of  any  mortal  lips." 

"  Sir,"  said  Little  Boy,  "  the 
Princess  is  more  sweet  than 
any  that  kiss  in  Fairy-land." 

"  Prince,"  said  the  giant, 
"  your  education  has  been  but 
slight,  or  else  you  would  know 

that  all  kisses  are  made  in  Fairy-land.     But  shut  your  eyes 
and  stir  not." 

Then  Litde  Boy  did  close  his  two  eyes.  At  once  he  felt  a 
tiny  kiss  from  lips  that  might  have  been  as  long  as  one's  finger- 
nail, and  once  he  was  kissed  on  each  cheek  and  once  on  his 
chin,  and  then  he  felt  faint  for  a  moment.  All  was  still  for  a 
while,  until  the  giant  said,  "You  are  lucky.  Open  your  eyes. 
Fair  Sir,"  and  went  away. 

Next  day  all  the  people  came  to  see  the  King  try  Litde 
Boy.  When  Litde  B.oy  saw  his  mother  he  was  almost  ready 
to  cry,  but  he  kept  still  and  waited.  Then  the  King  said  to 
her,  "  Tell  me,  is  this  your  son  ?  and  do  not  deceive  me,  or 
dreadful  things  will  happen  to  you  and  to  him." 

At  this   the   eood  woman  looked  at  him  with  care.     "  This 


J 6  PRINCE   LITTLE  BOY. 


looks  like  my  son,"  she  said;  "but  it  is  not  my  son,  because 
this  young  man  has  a  dimple  on  each  cheek  and  one  on  his 
chin.     Who  ever  saw  any  one  with  three  dimples  ?" 

When  the  King  heard  this  and  Litde  Boy's  father  declared 
also  that  his  lost  son  had  no  dimples,  the  King  bade  them  all 
<^o  free,  and  said  he  had  been  now  nine  years  angr)^  about 
those  bricks,  and  that  whoever  would  find  the  bad  brick-maker 
should  marry  the  Princess.  When  Prince  Litde  Boy  heard 
this  he  said  that  he  was  the  bad  boy  who  had  made  those 
bricks.  But  the  King  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and  ordered 
that  the  Prince  should  marry  the  Princess,  and  not  have  his 
head  cut  off,  because  the  Princess  did  wisely  say  that  a 
husband  with  no  head  wasn't  much  good  as  a  husband. 
Therefore  they  were  married  that  minute,  and  I  have  heard 
that  they  spent  their  honeymoon  in  Fairy-land.  And  this  is 
the  end  of  the  story  of  Prince  Little  Boy. 


KING   BEAR. 

— -^i-i^ — 

THIS  is  the  true  story  of  King  Bear.  His  father  was  a 
wise  bear.  He  was  a  great  bear  to  talk,  so  that 
some  of  the  things  he  said  are  looked  upon  as  wisdom. 
For  instance,  he  used  to  say  to  his  children  "  Bear  and  For- 
bear;" but  they  did  not  mind  this  much,  and  fought  one 
another.  One  day  six  of  them  were  shot  by  a  bad  man  and 
made  into  muffs.  The  only  one  left  was  sold  to  a  show,  and 
grew  up  very  clever,  and  ate  peanuts  and  drank  ginger-pop 
out  of  a  bottle,  and  could  stand  on  his  head  and  eat  ginger- 
bread. He  liked  better  to  eat  gingerbread  when  he  was  right 
end  up,  but  as  they  only  gave  him  gingerbread  when  he  was 
upper  end  down,  he  got  to  like  it,  and  so  the  more  he  stood 
on  his  head  the  more  gingerbread  he  got.  Being  a  wise 
bear,  he  knew  that  although  he  was  up  side  down,  the  ginger- 
bread was  not ;  and  this  made  him  reflect  on  the  foolish- 
ness of  the  people  who  laughed  to  see  a  bear  stand  on 
his  head,  and  could  not  see  that  they  were  wasting  their 
lauo-hter  and  orettincr  no  orinQ^erbread,  whilst  he  was  being 
nobly  paid  for  walking  on  his  fore  legs,  instead  of  like  a  man, 
on  his  hind  legs. 

One  day  he  heard  two  men  talking  about  bears,  and  one 
of  them  guessed  their  old  King  Bear  might  have  a  good  time 

2  17 


1 8  KING   BEAR. 


if  he  was  once  loose  among  those  wild  bears,  and  this  was 
what  made  him  run  away.  One  day,  in  the  great  Rocky 
Mountains,  the  whole  menagerie  stopped  for  a  night  on  a  hill, 
and  the  keeper  got  a  man  to  take  King  Bear  down  to  a  spring 
to  p'et  a  drink.  This  man,  who  did  not  know  much  about 
him,  took  hold  of  a  rope  attached  to  the  great  red  belt  around 
the  bear's  waist,  in  which,  on  show  days,  he  carried  a  watch  and 
a  pocket-handkerchief.  When  King  Bear  saw  the  great  hills, 
and  smelled  of  the  strong  breeze  from  the  pines,  and  thought 
of  seeing  the  other  bears,  he  got  restless.  By  and  by  the 
man,  who  was  a  lazy  fellow,  tied  the  rope  to  his  own  ankle  and 
fell  asleep.  But  when  he  waked  up  he  was  going  fast  over  the 
prairie  after  King  Bear.  The  more  things  that  man  said  the 
faster  went  King  Bear,  It  was  unpleasant  for  that  man,  and 
once  he  was  jerked  so  hard  that  he  hit  a  rock,  and  stood  on  his 
head  a  moment,  so  that  King  Bear  thought  to  himself,  "Surely 
that  man  is  going  to  eat  gingerbread."  At  last,  when  they 
were  on  a  hillside,  and  the  trees  were  few  and  the  rocks 
many.  King  Bear  began  to  find  it  pretty  hard  to  pull  that  man. 
So  he  stopped  and  ate  berries  and  drank  some  water,  and 
then  went  back  to  look  at  that  man  tied  to  the  rope  ;  but  the 
man  did  not  move  any  more,  and  did  not  say  loud  words. 
King  Bear  walked  away  again  slowly,  and  the  man  was  pulled 
along  after  him.  Pretty  soon  King  Bear  went  back  once  more 
and  stood  on  his  hind  leers  near  that  man  and  made  a  low  bow, 
and  this  he  did  because  always  at  the  end  of  the  show  when  he 
made  a  bow  every  one  went  away  and  left  him  alone.  But  it  did 
not  do  any  good  this  time,  and  the  man  just  lay  sdll  and  did 
not  seem  to  want  to  go  home  at  all.     So  then  King  Bear  turned 


KING   BEAR. 


'9 


him  over  with  his  great  paw,  and  was  more  puzzled  than  ever. 
After  a  while  King  Bear  tried  standing  on  his  head,  but  the 
man  did  not  laugh  any,  which  was  discouraging ;  and  when 
King  Bear  saw  this  he  sat  down  on  his  other  end,  and  looked 
at  that  stupid  man  ;  but  when  it  came  into  his  mind  that  when 
he  had  stood  on  his  head  he  had  had  no  gingerbread  to  eat  he 
saw  why  the  man  did  not  laugh.  Then  King  Bear  went  away 
up  the  hill  very  slowly  because  he  was  tired. 

When  King  Bear  got  near  the  top  he  came  to  a  deep 
crack  in  the  rocks.  He  jumped  over  and  fell  down  a  steep 
place,  where  he  swung  to  and  fro,  the  man  being  on  one  side  of 
the  rock  and  King  Bear  on  the  other.  At  last  the  rope  broke, 
and  King  Bear  fell  down  through  trees  and  over  rocks,  and 
into  a  lake.  As  soon  as  possible  he  crawled  out  and  sat 
on  a  stump  and  felt  his  back  all  over,  for  he  was  very  sore 
and  bruised.  After  a  while  he  gathered  up  the  part  of  the  rope 
still  left,  and  said  that  he  Qryessed  now  that  man  had  o-one 
home.  At  this  moment  he  heard  a  p^runt,  and  saw  eleven 
bears  walkino-  alono-  in  a  row.  Each  bear  had  hold,  with  his 
teeth,  of  the  tail  of  the  bear  in  front  of  him. 

"  Now  this  is  curious,"  said  King  Bear.  So  he  rose  up  and 
grunted  and  made  a  bow,  and  at  last,  seeing  that  no  one  took 
notice  of  him,  he  stood  on  his  head. 

At  this  the  bear  in  front  of  all  said,  "  Goody  gracious  !" 
But  none  of  the  other  bears  looked  at  Kino^  Bear,  who  said  in 
a  loud  voice, — 

"  What  does  this  mean  ?" 

"Alas!"  replied  the  leader,  "all  the  other  bears  you  see, 
except  myself,  are  blind." 


20  KING   BEAR. 


"What  made  them  bhnd  ?"  said  King  Bear. 

"Alas!"  cried  the  other,  "they  lost  their  eyes  playing 
seesaw  on  the  trees.  Now,  as  I  am  a  good  bear,  I  offered  to 
take  them  where  they  could  get  food.  Kindly  relieve  me  a 
moment,  until  we  get  to  the  top  of  the  hill  ?" 

"  Of  course,  sir,"  cried  King  Bear. 

So  when  the  second  bear  understood  the  matter  he  let  go 
of  Head  Bear's  tail  and  took  so  tight  a  bite  of  King  Bear's, 
which  was  fat  and  long,  that  King  Bear  started  off  in  haste. 
When  he  looked  around  he  saw  Head  Bear  trotting  away 
laughing. 

"  Halloo  !"  said  King  Bear. 

"  Halloo  !"  said  Head  Bear.     "  Good-by." 

At  this  Kine  Bear  saw  that  he  was  tricked.  "What  do 
you  want?"  he  cried  to  the  bears  behind  him. 

"We  want  to  go  home,"  they  all  growled  through  their 
shut  teeth. 

"Where  is  your  home?"  said  King  Bear. 

"We  don't  know,"  they  answered;  "we  are  all  blind 
orphans.     Take  us  home." 

"  Ha  !  ha  !"  said  King  Bear,  "  come  along."  And  so  saying 
walked  into  a  lake  until  the  water  ran  into  their  mouths,  and 
they  all  let  go,  one  by  one.  "  Oh,  my  poor  tail !"  said  King 
Bear.  "It  is  chewed  to  bits;"  and  set  off  to  punish  Head 
Bear;  but  when  he  came  near.  Head  Bear  cried  out, — 

"  How  clever  you  are  !  Let  us  be  friends.  I  will  hunt  for 
you  until  your  claws  grow  sharp.  You  must  be  a  King 
Bear." 

So  then  they  shook  paws,  and  Head  Bear  bit  off  the  rope, 


KING  BEAR.  2 1 


and  they  had  a  jolly  time  hunting  rabbits  and  eating  berries. 
But  by  and  by  King  Bear  got  tired,  because  the  winter  was 
near  and  every  day  Head  Bear  became  more  stupid  and 
sleepy. 

One  day  King  Bear  ran  away  and  left  him.  After  walk- 
ing all  day  night  came,  and  he  saw  that  he  was  in  a  little 
town,  but  every  one  was  asleep.  At  last,  of  a  sudden,  he 
smelled  gingerbread,  and  having  good  eyes,  saw  it  was  in  a 
shop-window.  Without  losing  time  he  broke  the  glass,  and 
ate  forty-seven  gingerbreads  and  quarts  of  peanuts.  Then  he 
knocked  the  bottles  of  beer  about  till  they  broke,  and  he  licked 
up  so  much  beer  that  he  got  very  drunk,  and  fell  down  and 
went  sound  asleep. 

When  he  awakened  he  found  that  he  was  tied  fast  with 
ropes,  and  there  were  all  the  men  who  belonged  to  his  show. 
I  am  sorry  to  say  that  his  keeper  beat  him  well  with  a  stick 
because  the  people  had  made  that  unlucky  man  pay  five 
dollars  on  account  of  his  bear  o-ettingf  drunk  in  their  town. 

But  after  that  King  Bear  did  not  like  gingerbread. 


MRS.   GRABEM   AND   FUZ-BUZ. 

— -^i-i^ — 

MRS.  GRABEM  was  a  hairy  spider  who  knit  cobwebs 
and  caught  flies  and  brought  up  a  small  household 
of  nine  young  spiders. 

When  I  first  knew  this  happy  family,  and  learned  all  the 
wonderful  things  they  heard  and  did,  their  home  was  as  pretty 
a  place  as  a  spider  need  want.  Their  web  was  spun  to  and 
fro  across  the  crotch  of  an  old  apple-tree,  and  when  they 
looked  down  they  could  see  the  green  grass,  and  when  they 
looked  up  they  could  see  the  great  jolly  red  apples  which 
must  have  looked  to  those  young  spiders  just  as  the  stars  look 
to  our  own  young  folks. 

On  one  side  of  their  web  Mrs.  Grabem  had  knit  with  great 
labor  a  long,  dark  cave  all  of  cobweb,  where  the  family  slept 
at  night,  and  where  they  lay  trembling  while  the  great  winds 
blew  and  the  tree  rocked  and  bent. 

One  fine  breezy  morning  in  June,  when  the  leaves  above 
were  clapping  their  palms  for  joy  at  growing,  and  when  the 
birds  were  tossing  litde  love-songs  to  one  another,  the  old 
lady  sat  mending  her  web  which  a  great  wasp  had  broken. 
Meanwhile,  the  young  spiders  chased  each  other  along  one 
thread  and  down  another  and  shook  the  dew  from  the  web  as 
they  played. 


"-"lillg 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


"Ah!"  said  the  eldest  of  them,  as  he  saw  it  sparkle  in 
the  sun,  "  these  must  be  the  diamonds  we  have  heard 
about." 

"No,"  said  another,  "they  look  to  me  blue;  they  are  tur- 
quoises." 

"  Geese !"  said  a  third,  who  was  on  a  distant  part  of  the 
web,  "  they  are  drops  of  gold :  any  one  can  see  they  are 
yellow." 

At  this  they  fell  to  abusing  one  another,  when  suddenly  the 
old  lady  cried  out,  "  Foolish  children,  if  you  change  places  you 
will  see  that  each  of  you  is  right.  You  make  me  think  of  a 
tale  which  my  grandmother  used  to  tell  me.  It  is  a  story 
which  has  come  down  in  our  family  from  your  ancestor  who 
gave  Robert  Bruce  such  very  good  advice  without  ever  saying 
a  word.  You  know  that  the  King  was  looking  at  the  spider 
when  he  was  swinging  a  line,  striving  to  fasten  it.  The  spider 
having  tried  six  times  was  about  to  stop,  for  before  this  spiders 
never  tried  more  than  six  times.  But  when  he  looked  up  and 
saw  the  King  he  knew  just  what  was  needed  to  give  him 
courage,  and  therefore  it  was  that  the  spider  made  one  more 
mighty  effort,  and  so  at  last  made  fast  the  web, 

"  Thus  you  see  that  our  ancestor  invented  trying  seven 
times,  although  I  think  the  Bruce  usually  gets  more  credit  than 
the  spider.  When  this  wise  spider  grew  older  he  went  to 
Spain  in  the  helmet  of  the  good  Lord  Douglas  who  was  killed 
by  the  Moors,  so  that  they  got  his  helmet  and  your  great-great- 
great-grandfather,  who  kept  quiet  enough  in  the  darkest 
corner  until  he  was  carried  to  Granada,  where  he  lived  a  long 
while  and  found  the  (lies  many,  and  tender,  and  of  good  flavor. 


24  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 

And    this  was    one  of  his    stories    which    he    had    gotten    at 
Granada,  when  he  lay  among  the  Moors." 

Then  all  the  young  spiders  listened,  and  the  old  mother 
spider  began  : 

"  One  night  the  King  Almanzor  was  walking  alone  when  he 
overheard  three  water-carriers  gossiping. 

"  '  I  would  not  be  the  King,'  said  Amric,  the  first  who  spoke. 
'  Every  morning  before  prayers  I  peep  through  a  crack  in  the 
wall  of  the  Palace  garden,  and  always  I  see  the  King  grave 
and  sober,  just  when  the  sun  is  rising  red  and  the  birds  are 
lauehine  and  tellinof  their  dreams.  I  would  not  be  a  King,  to 
look  sober  at  dawn  every  day  in  the  year.  A  grave  man  is 
the  King.' 

"'Bosh!'  said  the  second,  whose  name  was  Hassan.  'The 
King  is  a  sad  man.  He  must  have  done  some  evil  in  his 
youth,  for  just  before  noonday  prayers  I  look  into  the  Palace 
o-arden  from  my  window,  and  lo !  always  the  King  kneels 
weeping  at  the  great  fountain  which  we  call  the  forest  of 
waters.' 

"'And  I,'  cried  Amrah,  'think  ye  both  wrong.  A  merry 
man  is  King  Almanzor.  For  ever  at  evening,  when  the  mina- 
rets call  to  prayer,  I  have  seen  the  King  at  the  fountain  laugh- 
ing, always  laughing,  always  glad.  A  foolish  man  must  the 
King  be  to  laugh  at  nothing.' 

*' '  He's  too  sober,'  said  one. 

"  '  Too  sad,'  cried  the  second. 

"  '  Too  merry,'  said  the  third. 

" '  Then  each  held  to  his  own  opinion,  and  abused  the 
others,  until  from  words  they  came  to  blows. 


MRS.   GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  25 

"This  roused  the  guard,  who  seized  upon  the  whole  three, 
and  was  taking  them  away,  when  the  King  whispered  to  the 
Captain  to  bring  them  to  the  Palace  next  day. 

"  Accordingly  in  the  morning  they  were  brought  to  the 
King  in  the*  garden  before  prayer  time. 

"  *  I  hear,'  said  Almanzor,  '  that  you  talked  of  me  last  night. 
It  is  said  that  you  think  me  sober,  sad,  and  foolish.' 

"  Not  one  of  them  answered. 

"  '  I  will  think  of  your  crime,  and  how  you  shall  be  punished. 
Begone,  and  return  hither  at  noon.' 

"  At  noontide  they  were  brought  again  to  the  King,  who 
said  to  them  gravely,  '  You  have  abused  the  King.  You  shall 
die  to-morrow.' 

"'Woe  is  me!'  cried  they  all,, and  as  they  were  led  away 
the  King  stayed  weeping  by  the  water's  edge. 

"  But  at  evening  the  guard  took  them  out  yet  once  more, 
and  this  time  the  King  was  merry,  and  the  sound  of  music 
mocked  their  sadness. 

"'You  are  pardoned,'  said  the  King  Almanzor.  'Judge 
not  lightly  of  me  again.  In  the  morning  I  reflect  on  the 
crimes  which  I  have  to  judge,  and  then  I  am  grave.  At 
noon  I  condemn  some  to  die,  and  then  ever  I  weep.  But 
at  nightfall  I  pardon  the  least  guilty,  and  then  I  am  always 
glad  at  heart.  Be  ye  also  merry  to-night,  and  to-morrow 
wiser.' 

"And  thus  saying,  the  King  gave  them  a  purse  of  gold  and 
turned  away." 

"What  a  little  story,"  cried  the  young  spiders. 

"  Hush  !"  answered  Mrs.  Grabem.     "  Now  I  must  mend  this 


2  5  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


hole  in  our  cobweb.  But,  bless  me  !  run  to  the  den.  Here 
comes  a  big  fly." 

Quick  as  could  be  they  all  ran  into  the  dark  passage,  and 
Mrs.  Grabem  stayed  at  the  door.  Pretty  soon  the  fly  flew 
near.  He  was  a  handsome  gay  fellow,  all  over  gold  and  purple 
and  sparkling  in  the  sunlight.  He  thought  he  would  have  a 
litde  of  the  nice  gum  which  flowed  from  the  apple-tree  bark, 
so  he  flew  nearer,  but  just  as  he  alighted  his  legs  caught  in 
the  net  and  then  what  a  fuss  he  made !  Buz,  buz,  and  pulled 
and  bit,  but  it  was  in  vain,  for  he  was  held  fast  by  a  long  cob- 
web which  allowed  him  to  go  a  litde  way  but  no  farther. 

Then  Mrs.  Grabem  ran  out,  and  pulled  at  the  web,  and 
drew  him  near,  when  all  the  litde  spiders  began  to  sing,  "  We 
shall  have  a  good  breakfast." 

"  What !  do  you  mean  to  eat  me  ?"  said  Fuz-buz,  the  Fly. 
"  I  never  hurt  you." 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Mrs.  Grabem,  "you  will  do  us  a  great  deal 
of  good  very  soon.  You  are  a  queer-looking  fly  anyhow.  I 
hope  you  won't  disagree  with  my  children.     Where  do  you 

live?" 

"In  Spain,"   replied  Fuz-buz,  proudly.     "I  am  a  Spanish 

fly." 

"  Dear  me  !"  cried  one  of  the  spiders  ;  "  perhaps  you  can  tell 

us  some  stories." 

"  I  know  a  thousand  fairy  tales,"  said  Fuz-buz. 

"Oh,  mamma!"  said  one  fat  little  spider,  "  it  would  be  a 
shame  to  eat  a  thousand  stories  all  at  once.  Let  us  keep  him 
until  he  tells  us  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  tales,  and  then 
we  can  eat  him  afterwards." 


MRS.   GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ  BUZ. 


27 


"That  I  call  good  advice,"  cried  Mrs.  Grabem,  and  at  once 
she  fastened  the  cobweb  so  that  poor  Fuz-buz  could  walk  just 
a  little  way  from  the  web  and  no  farther. 

"And  now,"  said  she,  "twice  a  day  you  must  tell  my  chil- 
dren a  story.  But  never  let  me  find  you  trying  to  get  away,  or 
I  will  eat  you  in  a  moment." 

The  young  spiders  could  hardly  wait. 

"  Quick  !"  they  cried,  "  a  story  !"   "  a  story  !" 

"  What  about?"  replied  Fuz-buz,  glad  to  be  spared. 

"  Oh,  about  men,  big  men  like  Robert  Bruce,"  said  they, 
"  and  about  a  Princess  too." 

"  Very  well,"  returned  Fuz-buz.  "  Don't  eat  me,  and  I  will 
tell  you  no  end  of  stories,  and  the  first  shall  be  about 

LADY    GOLDEN    HAIR    AND    HER   TWO    LOVERS, 
PRINCE    CLEVER   AND    PRINCE    STURDY. 

"  A  long  while  ago,  and  far,  far  away,  a  lady  lived  who  had 
such  beautiful  locks  that  the  people  named  her  Lady  Golden 
Hair.  Folks  said  that  when  she  was  little  her  fairy  god- 
mother had  so  well  woven  three  strands  of  sunshine  with  her 
curly  tresses  that  it  never  got  loose  again,  and  I  suppose  this 
must  have  been  so,  because  when  at  night  she  walked  in  the 
garden  all  the  flowers  woke  up  and  looked  about  thinking  the 
daylight  had  come. 

"  All  day  long  her  maidens  combed  her  hair  with  combs  of 
CTold,  and  at  evenine  sano-  to  her  of  the  beautiful  Prince  who 
would  one  day  come  across  the  seas  and  win  her  love  for  ever- 
more. 


MRS.   GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


"  Many  came  and  looked  into  her  deep  brown  eyes,  but 
none  suited  her,  and  so  she  shook  her  golden  hair,  and  they 
went  their  ways  again. 

'*  At  length  her  father,  the  King,  said  she  must  make  up  her 
mind  to  marry  somebody. 

"  The  Princess  said,  '  I  will  marry  no  one  who  does  not  own 
a  Roc's  ^'gg,  and  no  one  who  has  not  kissed  me,  and  no  one 
who  has  not  a  lock  of  hair  to  show  exactly  like  my  own.  And 
no  one  shall  kiss  me,  and  no  one  ever  shall  have  a  lock  of  my 
hair,  and  where  on  earth  will  any  one  get  a  Roc's  ^g'g^.  and  so 
how  shall  I  ever  be  married?  No,  I  never  will  marry  any- 
body.' 

"At  this  her  father  was  in  despair,  but  as  he  thought  that 
perhaps  some  one  might  be  bright  enough  to  outwit  the  Prin- 
cess, he  caused  it  to  be  made  known  everywhere  that  the  Lady 
Golden  Hair  would  marry  the  man  who  had  kissed  her,  and 
who  could  show  a  lock  of  hair  just  like  hers,  and  who  owned 
a  Roc's  eoof. 

"  When  her  lovers  heard  this  they  all  cried  and  went  away, 
except  two  who  were  named  Prince  Clever  and  Prince  Sturdy. 

"  Prince  Clever  was  handsome  and  tall,  and  very  cunning, 
because  he  was  a  Sorcerer's  son  ;  but  Prince  Sturdy  was  brave 
and  straightforward,  and  had  honest  eyes  of  his  own  which 
were  brown  as  garnets  and  as  steady  as  stars. 

"Now  when  these  two  heard  about  the  Princess,  and  what 
must  be  done  to  marry  her,  Prince  Clever  said,  '  I  am  so  cun- 
ning that  I  shall  be  sure  to  succeed;'  but  Prince  Sturdy  said, 
'  Thorns  are  roses  to  those  who  love  !     I  will  try.' 

"When   the    Princess   saw  them   she   wished   silently  that 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FCZBUZ. 


29 


Prince  Sturdy  might  succeed ;  still  she  only  said,  '  How 
foolish  you  both  must  be.  Do  either  of  you  own  a  Roc's 
egg  ?'  and  "then  she  bade  them  good-by  and  they  kissed  their 
hands  to  her  and  rode  away  by  different  paths  till  each  of  them 
entered  a  wood  where  they  dismounted,  and  thought  how  to 
get  a  Roc's  ^gg.  'Then,'  said  Clever,  'I  see;'  but  Sturdy 
said,  '  I  will  ride  till  I  find  one.' 

"  About  a  thousand  miles  away,  across  a  great  sea,  lived  a 
Roc  who  had  just  laid  an  &gg  as  big  as  a  house  and  as  hard 
as  marble.  No  one  knew  where  she  lived  except  a  witch,  to 
whose  cave  in  a  great  hill  Prince  Clever  rode  swiftly. 

"  Because  he  was  a  Sorcerer's  son  the  witch  came  out  to 
speak  to  him.  But,  meanwhile,  Prince  Sturdy  having  become 
lost  in  the  woods  rode  on,  until  at  nightfall  he  heard  voices. 

"Then  he  alighted  and  clambered  over  the  hill  and  lay  quiet 
until  he  heard  to  his  delight  the  witch  telline  Clever  where  to 
get  the  Roc's  Qgg. 

"As  quick  as  could  be,  Sturdy  got  on  his  horse  and  rode 
away  as  hard  as  ever  a  man  could  ride.  By  and  by  he 
came  to  the  sea,  where  he  hired  a  ship,  and  sailed  many 
days  to  a  desolate  land  where  was  nothing  but  hills  of  gray 
sand. 

"  Here  he  went  on  shore  and  sent  the  ship  back.  Then, 
drawing  his  sword,  he  climbed  a  great  sand  hill  and  after  two 
days  reached  the  top.  There  he  saw  in  a  mighty  nest  the 
great  &gg,  as  white  and  smooth  as  ivory. 

"  As  soon  as  the  Roc  flew  away  to  get  her  dinner,  the  Prince 
came  near  and  beean  to  crack  a  bie  hole  in  the  eortr  with  his 
sword.     Presently  all  the  insides  of   the  egg  ran  out  of  the 


so 


MRS.   GRAB  EM  A  AW   FUZ-BUZ. 


hole  and  nearly  drowned  him.  When  it  was  well  emptied  and 
the  whole  of  it  had  flowed  away  to  the  sea,  the  Prince  put  his 
bag  of  cakes  into  the  ^g^,  and  then  his  sword,  and  at  last 
squeezed  himself  in. 

"  He  was  just  able  to  thrust  his  turban  into  the  hole,  when 
the  Roc  flew  home  to  her  nest, 

"  When  she  left  her  nest  once  more,  Sturdy  made  a  nice  little 

opening  as  big  as  a  pea, 
so  that  he  could  just 
see  throuoh  it.  And 
w^hat  think  you  he  saw  ? 
"  There  were  two 
ships  on  the  sea,  and 
Prince  Clever  with  a 
hundred  men.  Very 
soon  they  came  up  the 
hill  and  began  to  push 
the  ^g<g  and  to  heave 
it  over  with  crow-bars 
and  beams  of  wood, 
until  it  rolled  to  the 
edge  of  the  sand-heap. 
Then  to  Prince  Stur- 
dy's  horror  the  ^g'g 
began  to  turn  over  and 
over  down  the  hill  to 
the  sea. 
"Fast  it  went,  and  faster  and  faster,  while  Sturdy  tumbled 
over  and  over,  and  was  on  his  head  one  minute,  and  on  his 


MRS.   GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  3 1 

heels  the  next,  till  at  last  splash  went  the  ^<g<g  into  the  water 
and  floated  lightly  on  the  rolling  waves. 

"  Very  soon  the  sailors  tied  a  rope  around  the  egg,  and 
fastened  the  other  end  to  their  ships,  and  sailed  away  rejoicing. 

"In  this  manner  they  sailed  many  weeks,  until  poor  Sturdy 
had  eaten  his  last  cake  and  was  nearly  starved  to  death. 

"  When  at  last  they  came  to  land,  the  ^^^  was  hoisted  on  to 
a  huee  car,  and  a  hundred  horses  drew  it  to  the  Palace  of  the 
Princess  Golden  Hair,  while  Prince  Clever  rode  alongside  as 
happy  as  could  be. 

"  When  the  lady  saw  Clever  and  the  ^^^  she  was  ready  to 
cry  with  vexation,  because  she  knew  there  was  only  one  Roc's 
^§&  in  the  world,  and  because  Prince  Clever  had  gotten  it. 

"  Soon  her  father  called  her  to  welcome  the  Prince,  and 
every  one  went  to  see  the  ^^%,  while  the  music  sounded  and 
the  people  hurrahed  for  Prince  Clever. 

"  As  soon  as  he  saw  the  lady  he  ran  and  knelt  and  said, 
'  Princess,  here  is  my  Roc's  ^'g'g' 

"  Then  a  voice  was  heard  saying,  '  No,  it  is  mine !' 

"  '  Who  spoke  ?'  said  Clever. 

"  '  I,'  said  the  voice,     '  It  is  mine  !' 

"  But  no  one  could  tell  where  the  voice  came  from. 

"At  last  the  Chief  Magician  cried  aloud,  'Who  dares  to 
mock  the  King?' 

"  Then  said  the  voice,  '  Oh,  great  Magician,  who  owns  the 
house,  he  who  lives  in  it,  or  he  who  looks  at  it?' 

"  *  He  who  lives  in  it,'  answered  the  Magician. 

"  *  Then  it  is  my  egg,'  said  Sturdy,  as  he  broke  away  the 
shell  and  stepped  out  of  the  hole  in  the  side  of  the  egg. 


32 


MRS.   GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


"  '  Ah,'  said  the  lady  to  herself,  '  what  beautiful  eyes  he  has.' 
But  Prince  Clever  smote  his  breast,  and  the  people  hurrahed 
for  Prince  Sturdy. 

"  Meanwhile,  Sturdy  knelt  to  the  lady.  'Ah,'  said  he,  'it  is 
easy  to  live  in  a  Roc's  egg,  or  to  storm  a  city  for  a  lady's  love, 
but  to  kiss  her  and  to  find  hair  like  thine,  woe  is  me  !  How 
can  these  things  be  done  ?' 

"  As  for  Clever,  he  smiled,  and  said  to  himself,  '  It  is  hard  to 
bring  a  Roc's  ^^^  home,  but  to  cheat  a  woman  with  a  lock  of 
hair  and  to  steal  a  kiss  is  easy.' 

"  After  Prince  Clever  had  eaten  and  rested,  the  two  Princes 
kissed  their  hands  to  the  lady  and  rode  away  once  more  to 
find  a  tress  of  hair  which  should  be  like  that  of  the  Princess. 

"  Now  what  did  Prince  Clever  do  to  get  the  lady  ?  He 
went  into  the  country  to  see  his  fairy  godmother  and  to  ask 
her  advice,  and  this  was  what  she  told  him  to  do. 

"  He  was  to  dress  himself  like  a  peddler  and  was  to  take 
with  him  a  beautiful  great  opal,  and  afterwards  he  was  to  do 
other  things  which  presently  you  shall  hear  of 

"  When  the  Fairy  told  him  all  these  things,  he  said,  '  Ah, 
godmother,  how  shall  I  make  my  nose  long  and  my  mouth 
big  and  ugly  so  as  to  be  like  a  real  peddler?' 

"  '  Well,  my  dear,'  she  replied,  '  that  is  easy,'  and  so  saying 
she  put  her  forefingers  into  the  two  corners  of  his  mouth  and 
pulled  it  until  one  corner  was  under  each  ear. 

"'I  think  that  will  do,'  she  said;  'and  as  to  your  nose,  take 
a  pinch  of  this  snuff.' 

"  No  sooner  had  he  done  as  she  desired  than  he  began  to 
sneeze  so  hard  that  in  five  minutes  the  end  of  his  delicate  nose 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  33 

was  blown  out  into  a  great  round  purple  knob,  which  was  so 
bright  that  he  could  not  keep  from  squinting  to  get  a  look 
at  it. 

"  '  1  do  not  think  any  one  will  know  you  now,'  said  the 
Fairy,  'but  be  careful  not  to  open  your  niouth  very  wide  or 
possibly  your  head  may  fall  off  backwards.' 

"  '  Upon  my  word,'  cried  the  Prince  when  he  looked  at  his 
face  in  a  smooth  pool  of  water,  '  if  I  be  as  cunning  as  I  am 
ugly  I  shall  surely  win  the  lady !' 

"  The  Fairy  then  gave  him  a  little  red  cloak,  and  bade  him 
walk  like  an  old  man  and  be  careful. 

"  Finally  she  placed  in  his  basket  a  gold  box  containing  the 
magical  opal. 

"When  he  had  left  her  she  drew  a  ring  on  the  ground  and 
stood  within  it,  and  enchanted  the  Lady  Golden  Hair  with 
wicked  words,  so  that  for  four  days  and  nights  she  had  no 
sleep,  because  the  instant  her  lids  closed  she  dreamed  that 
nine  beautiful  ladies  were  kissing  Prince  Sturdy,  and  that  he 
was  also  kissing  one  of  them  and  that  the  one  he  kissed  was 
not  herself 

"  So  it  was  that  all  these  days  she  lay  awake  angry,  and  all 
the  while  Prince  Clever  rode  fiercely  towards  her  garden  gate. 

"  Near  by  he  hid  his  horse,  and  walking  like  an  old  man 
came  to  the  palace  slowly  and  asked  to  see  the  lady. 

"  The  guard  laughed  at  his  nose,  and  told  him  the  Princess 
was  ill  and  could  not  sleep. 

"  '  It  is  well,'  answered  he.  '  I  have  here  a  charm  to  bring 
her  sleep.' 

"  As  soon  as  this  was  known  he  was  brought  quickly  to  the 


34  MRS.    GRABEM  AND  FUZ  BUZ. 

chamber  of  the  Princess,  where  she  lay  resting  on  a  couch, 
while  her  ladies  fanned  her  with  fans  made  of  fresh  flowers 
which  every  ten  minutes  were  brought  to  them  by  slaves. 

"  Although  she  felt  very  badly  from  want  of  sleep,  no 
sooner  did  she  see  the  Prince  with  his  new  face  than  she 
began  to  laugh  until  she  cried  with  mirth.  '  For  tears,'  said 
Saadi,  the  poet,  '  are  the  diamonds  of  affliction  and  the  pearls 
of  merriment.' 

"  After  a  time,  however,  the  Princess  grew  silent,  although 
she  did  not  dare  to  look  at  him  when  he  talked.  Now  this 
was  what  he  said :  '  Here  is  an  amulet  for  them  that  sleep  not, 
or  sleeping  have  evil  dreams.  Let  thy  ladies  leave  thee,  and 
in  a  moment  thou  shalt  sleep.' 

" '  Instantly  begone  !'  cried  the  Princess  to  her  maidens. 
'  Fly !  I  have  no  fears.  Let  a  slave  with  a  drawn  cimeter 
keep  the  door,  and  leave  me  with  this  wise  and  astonishing 
man.' 

"  Then,  when  there  were  none  in  the  room  but  the  lady 
and  himself,  the  Prince  opened  his  gold  box  and  lifted  out  of 
it  a  large  opal  which  shone  with  a  dim,  gray,  sleepy  lustre  with 
points  of  red  and  purple  light. 

"  When  he  held  the  jewel  up  before  her  eyes,  she  said,  '  It 
has  letters  on  it.     What  be  they?     What  do  they  mean?' 

"'The  words,'  he  replied,  'are  the  names  of  the  nine  most 
stupid  books  that  ever  were  written,  and  within  is  the  name  of 
the  sleepiest  man  that  ever  lived,  and  also  the  name  of  a  very 
young  baby  who  slept  every  night  all  night  long.' 

" '  It  is  well,'  said  the  Princess.     '  Let  me  sleep.' 

"'Rise!'  said  the  Prince,  and  she  stood  erect  while  he  held 


MliS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  35 

the  opal  before  her  eyes,  and  the  golden  flow  of  her  hair  fell 
from  head  to  neck  and  from  waist  to  floor  in  curves  of  dark- 
ling gold  like  the  early  sunlight  when  it  is  yet  touched  with 
the  fading-  brown  of  dawn. 

"  As  she  gazed  fixedly  at  the  jewel  her  eyelids  closed,  and  a 
drowsy  languor  grew  upon  her  face,  till  at  last  she  swayed 
backwards  and  fell  upon  the  couch. 

"  Then  the  Prince  laid  the  jewel  on  the  floor  and  crushed  it 
with  his  foot.  As  it  broke,  a  rosy  flame  flashed  from  it,  and  a 
heavy,  odorous  smoke  curled  upwards  and  filled  the  room  with 
dense  vapor. 

"Then  the  Prince  took  a  lono-  lock  of  her  crolden  hair,  and 
with  his  dagger  cut  it  quickly.  When  he  had  twisted  it  around 
his  sword  hilt  he  leaned  over  and  kissed  her  cheek,  but  though 
the  lady  slept  the  blood  seemed  to  leap  to  the  spot  he  had 
touched,  and  her  cheek  grew  scarlet,  as  he  turned  away 
ashamed  and  fled  from  the  palace. 

"  Near  to  the  garden  he  mounted  his  horse,  and  spurred 
swifdy  away  through  the  night,  while  the  trees  moaned  in  the 
wind  as  he  passed,  and  the  birds  awoke  and  sang  'Shame! 
shame  !'   till  he  stopped  his  ears  and  fled  faster  and  faster. 

"Thus  it  was  that  Prince  Clever  kissed  the  lady  and  had  a 
golden  lock  to  show  which  was  like  her  own,  because  it  was 
her  own.     The  next  day  he  met  Sturdy. 

"  '  Ha !  ha  !'  said  Clever,  '  you  own  a  Roc's  ^^%,  but  I  have 
kissed  the  lady,  and  who  do  you  think  has  hair  like  this  ?* 

"'Only  one,'  replied  Prince  Sturdy,  sadly. 

"  '  We  shall  meet  to-morrow,'  said  Clever,  for  so  they  had 
agreed,  and  thus  saying  he  rode  away. 


36  MJ^S.    GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ  BUZ. 

"  Prince  Sturdy  also  arose  and  entered  a  wood  near  by,  for 
he  was  sick  at  heart  and  desired  to  see  no  man's  face. 

"  In  a  Httle  while  he  was  aware  of  two  wild  roses  beside  a 
rock  on  which  he  had  seated  himself.  As  he  thougrht  of  the 
lady  he  wept,  and  just  one  tear  fell  upon  a  rose. 

"  Then  said  a  faint,  clear  voice,  '  The  dew  falls.' 

"  '  I  hope  it  is  rain,'  said  another  voice,  which  was  still  more 
sweet  and  pure. 

"'Ah,'  sighed  the  Prince,  'happy  roses!' 

"  '  Why  do  you  weep  ?'  said  the  roses,  for  it  was  their  voices 
he  had  heard. 

"  '  Because  I  may  not  steal  a  lady's  kiss,'  said  the  Prince, 
'  and  because  I  want  a  tress  of  golden  hair  the  like  of  which  is 
not  to  be  had  on  earth.' 

"  'We  don't  know  much  about  kisses,'  said  the  rose.  '  But 
it  is  pleasant  to  touch  a  young  rose-bud  when  the  winds  blow 
us  against  one  another.     I  suppose  that  must  be  like  a  kiss.' 

"'Yes,'  said  Sturdy,  laughing,  as  he  pushed  the  two  roses 
together  till  their  red  lips  touched, 

"  '  Thanks,'  said  they.  Then  one  of  them  said,  '  If  I  were 
you  I  would  go  and  lie  on  the  top  of  a  great  cliff,  and  as  the 
yellow  sunlight  trickles  over  the  stones  at  morning  I  would 
catch  a  bit  in  a  gold  box  and  shut  the  lid  quickly  and  keep 
it.  Where  is  a  lady  would  have  golden  locks  like  that,  so 
yellow  and  so  fine  ?' 

"  '  It  is  well,'  cried  the  Prince,  and  so  saying  he  went  away, 
sadly  thinking  of  the  kiss  he  might  not  have. 

"  Next  day  the  Court  and  the  King  and  the  Princess  were 
in  the  e^arden  awaitine  the  two  Princes. 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZBUZ.  37 

"  First  came  Prince  Clever,  who  had  gotten  his  good  looks 
again,  and  who  came  gayly  with  a  hundred  knights  and  with 
slaves  who  bore  an  ivory  box  which  held  the  Princess's  hair. 

"  Next  came  Prince  Sturdy  on  a  great  black  steed,  but  all 
alone  and  with  only  a  little  gold  box  in  his  hand. 

"When  both  had  bent  before  the  lady,  she  smiled  and  said, 
'  You  are  empty-handed.' 

"  '  No,'  said  Clever,  and  bade  the  slaves  approach.  Then 
from  an  ivory  box  he  took  a  glorious  tress  of  the  lady's  hair. 

"  '  Is  it  like  ?'  said  he. 

"  'Ah !'  she  cried,  as  she  matched  it  with  her  own  longr  hair. 
*  It  is  the  same  !   it  was  mine  !      How  came  you  by  this  ?' 

"  *  Pardon  me,  lady,'  he  said.  '  It  was  I  who  in  your  sleep 
yesterday  stole  this  tress  of  hair.     Where  else  is  any  like  it?' 

"'Ah!'  she  cried,  growing  pale,  'you  were  the  Sorcerer 
with  the  foul  visage.  You  must  have  worn  your  heart  upon 
your  face  for  once,  Fair  Sir.  But,  ah  me  !'  she  continued,  'the 
kiss  !  the  kiss  !     Did  you  dare  to  kiss  me,  sir  Prince  ?' 

"  '  I  dared,'  he  said.     '  How  else  could  I  win  you  ?' 

" '  Enough,'  she  said,  and  turned,  pale  and  despairing,  to 
Prince  Sturdy. 

"'Lady,'  said  he,  'at  morning  I  climbed  the  hill  and  caught 
in  this  box  a  tress  of  golden  sunlight.  If  it  be  not  as  like  to 
thy  hair  as  sun  to  sun,  I  am  a  false  prince.'  Then  he  opened 
the  box  beside  the  lady's  wealth  of  hair. 

"  '  Bosh  !'  cried  Prince  Clever.  '  There  is  nothing  there,'  for 
the  box  of  a  truth  was  empty. 

"'True,'  said  Sturdy,  'it  was  bright  this  morning,  but  it  is 
darkness  now  beside  the  sunshine  of  my  lady's  locks.' 


38  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 

"  '  Well  said !'  cried  the  King,  while  the  Princess  blushed 
like  a  whole  summer  of  rosy  peaches. 

" '  By  my  beard  !'  cried  Clever,  '  he  has  the  &gg,  and  it 
seems  I  am  outwitted  about  the  lock  of  hair.  I  pray  you  to 
tell  me  which  of  us  has  the  kiss.' 

"  '  A  gift  is  better  than  a  theft,'  said  she,  and  whispering  this, 
bent  down  and  kissed  the  brow  of  brave  Prince  Sturdy,  who 
trembled  like  a  lily  of  earth  in  the  wind  of  Paradise. 

"  But  as  for  Prince  Clever,  he  made  a  wry  face  and  said,  '  It 
is  very  warm  in  this  place,'  and  so  went  away  with  his  hands 
in  his  pockets  and  was  no  more  seen  among  men." 

When  Fuz-buz  had  ended,  all  the  little  family  of  spiders 
began  to  rejoice  together,  because  of  the  nice  story  they  had 
heard  and  also  because  of  the  many  more  which  were  yet  to 
be  told. 

The  next  afternoon,  as  soon  as  ever  Mrs.  Grabem  began  to 
knit,  the  spiders  cried  aloud  for  a  story. 

"  But  I  am  tired,"  said  Fuz-buz. 

"  No  matter  !"  cried  the  spiders  ;   "  we  are  not." 

"  Come,  no  nonsense  !"  roared  Mrs.  Grabem. 

"  Well,"  cried  poor  Fuz-buz,  "  let  me  think  a  little." 

"I  should  not  suppose  it  took  much  thinking  to  make  up 
stories,"  replied  Mrs.  Grabem. 

By  this  time  Fuz-buz  was  ready,  and  having  eaten  a  little 
cherry  gum  to  clear  his  throat,  he  began  as  follows : 

"  This  is  a  fairy  tale." 


J//^S.    GRABEM  AND   FUZBUZ. 


39 


COLD   COUNTRY. 

About  Trowel  Ku  the  Beaver  who  builds  Dams.     About  Kanecri  the 
Loon  who   sings  on   the  Lakes.     About  Hoota  the   Owl  who  is 

NOT.SO  wise   as    he   LOOKS.       ABOUT  WeESKA   THE    FoX  WHO    IS   JUST   AS 
sharp    AS    HIS    OWN    NoSE,    AND    THAT    IS    SAYING    A    GREAT    DEAL. 

"Ever  so  many  days  ago,"  said  Fuz-buz,  "and  ever  so  far 
away  up  among  the  great  lakes,  it  was  always  summer.  There 
the  trees  were  always  green  and  the  flowers  never  ceased  to 
bloom  nor  the  birds  to  sing. 

"The  beaver  built  dams  and  no  winter  came  to  freeze  them. 
The  owl  hooted  solemnly  and  the  squirrels  raced  and  played 
and  ate  nuts  all  the  year,  and  the  foxes  joked  with  the  big 
bears,  and  the  loons  sang  to  the  stars  all  the  night  long,  and 
the  stars  winked  at  the  lakes,  and  no  one  ate  any  one  else,  for 
every  one  was  merry  and  happy,  because  it  was  summer  all 
the  year. 

"  But  at  last  everything  and  everybody  grew  tired  of  being 
so  happy. 

"  '  Ah  me  !'  said  the  bear,  '  I  get  so  fat  it  would  be  as  easy 
to  roll  as  to  walk.' 

"  '  Just  so,'  sighed  the  trees.  '  What  a  bore  to  have  to  make 
leaves  all  the  time  !' 

"  Only  the  owl  said,  '  I'm  comfortable,'  and  gave  his  feathers 
a  lazy  shake  and  went  to  sleep  again. 

"  After  a  while  all  the  animals  and  trees  and  fish  had  a 
great  talk  and  made  up  their  minds  that  it  was  unpleasant  to 
have  hot  weather  always. 


40 


MRS.   GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


"  So  the  fox  proposed  that  they  should  go  in  search  of  cool 
weather,  and  bring  back  a  little  by  way  of  a  change. 

"  At  last  they  agreed  to  send  Trowel  Ku  the  Beaver,  and 
Kanecri  the  Loon,  and  Hoota  the  Owl,  and  Weeska  the  Fox. 

"  All  were  ready  except  Hoota  the  Owl,  who  said,  '  I'm 
comfortable.  What's  the  use  ?'  and  fell  asleep  again,  but 
Weeska  bit  his  toes  and  Kanecri  the  Loon  sang  in  his  ears  and 
at  last  they  woke  him  up.  '  For,'  said  the  Beaver,  '  he  looks  so 
wise  we  cannot  do  without  him.' 

"  Therefore  it  was  resolved  that  Trowel  Ku  the  Beaver 
should  pull  out  one  of  his  feathers  every  five  minutes  to  keep 
him  wide  awake,  and  having  thus  planned  the  matter  each  one 
filled  a  birch-bark  bag  with  food,  and  the  whole  party  set  off 
at  daybreak. 

"After  a  long  journey  they  came  to  the  hut  of  a  Magician 
called  a  Manitou,  on  a  high  hill.  Here  the  Loon  called  aloud, 
but  no  one  came  until  the  Owl  mounted  on  the  Fox's  back  and 
knocked  at  the  door,  when  a  litde  hunchbacked  woman 
opened  it  and  said,  'You  can't  come  in  without  money.' 

"  '  Ha  !  ha  !'  said  the  Fox,  and  ran  away  into  the  wood,  and 
presently  came  back  with  a  handful  of  green  leaves  which  he 
gave  to  the  old  woman. 

"  '  That  will  do,'  said  she,  for  she  was  blind.  '  Money  must 
be  plenty  where  you  live.  Come  in.'  By  and  by  the  Manitou 
came  home. 

"  '  What  now  ?'  said  he. 

" '  Sir,'  answered  Trowel  Ku  the  Beaver,  '  I  am  tired  of 
summer  and  of  building  dams.  Tell  us  where  we  can  buy  a 
litde  cold  to  take  home  for  a  change.'     '  And  I,'  said  the  Fox, 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  4 1 

'  I  find  it  always  too  hot.'  '  For  my  part,'  cried  the  Loon 
Kanecri,  '  you  have  given  us  only  summer.  Either  give  me 
fewer  feathers  or  else  a  little  cold.  As  for  the  trees,  they  are 
all  trrowline  about  havinof  no  rest  at  making;-  leaves.' 

"  *  Then,'  said  Manitou  to  the  Owl,  '  what  do  you  want  ?' 
'  I'm  comfortable,'  said  Hoota  the  Owl,  and  straightway  went 
to  sleep. 

"  Well,'  said  Manitou,  '  I  will  send  you  to  the  cold  country, 
and  you  can  all  of  you  take  home  a  bag  of  cold  to  your 
friends.'  Then  he  began  to  laugh,  and  taking  a  deer-skin 
bade  them  all  jump  inside. 

"  When  they  were  all  in  he  sewed  them  up,  and  putting  the 
skin  outside  of  the  hut  bade  it  go. 

"  At  once  it  became  alive  and  bounded  off  over  the  hills 
and  throuofh  the  streams  until  it  came  to  a  orreat  frozen  lake. 

"  Here  the  Beaver  heard  a  noise,  and  presently  an  arrow 
went  through  the  deer,  which  fell  on  the  ice.  The  next  mo- 
ment a  knife  ripped  the  deer  open,  and  the  Owl  and  the 
Beaver  and  Fox  and  Loon  jumped  out. 

"  Then  they  saw  two  tall  men  made  of  icicles  who  gave  a 
cry  when  they  saw  them,  dropped  their  knives,  and  fled  away 
over  the  lake. 

"  '  Dear  me  !'  said  Trowel  Ku.  '  This  must  be  cold  land.  Let 
us  fill  our  bags,'  cried  Weeska  the  Fox,  'and  be  off'  'Here 
is  too  much  cold  for  me  ;  I'm  not  comfortable,'  said  Hoota  the 
owl.     '  Boo  hoo,  how  it  bites  my  toes  !' 

"Then  they  all  filled  their  birch  bags  with  cold,  of  which 
there  was  plenty  for  every  one  lying  about  loose,  and  set  off 
homewards. 


42  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


"  But  after  a  little  while  they  all  became  so  cold  that  their 
jaws  chattered.     By  and  by  they  saw  the  Manitou. 
"  '  What  now  ?'  said  he. 

" '  Too  much  cold;  said  the  Beaver.  '  I  think  one  bag 
would  answer,'  added  the  Fox,  'and  we  could  carry  it  by 
turns.'  'I'm  not  comfortable,'  groaned  Hoota  the  Owl;  'my 
toes  are  frozen.'  'Suppose,'  said  the  Loon,  'you  were  to  help 
us  to  carry  the  cold  home.' 

"  '  Ho  !'  answered  Manitou,  for  he  was  very  angry.  '  Be- 
gone !  You  wanted  winter  and  I  gave  it  to  you,  and  you  had 
leave  to  take  as  much  cold  as  you  wanted,  and  were  greedy 
and  took  too  much.  I  will  warm  you  a  little  and  send  your 
cold  home,  too.' 

"Thus  saying  he  tore  the  sunset  out  of  the  west  and  threw 
it  a  thousand  miles  into  their  country,  and  lo  !  it  fell  on  the 
trees,  and  some  it  stained  yellow  and  some  red  and  some 
brown,  which  so  amazed  them  that  they  let  their  leaves  fall  in 
affright  and  horror. 

"  Next  the  Manitou  took  up  the  bags  of  cold  and  threw 
them  after  the  sunset,  and  as  they  flew  they  broke,  and  the 
white  cold  fell  in  little  fleecy  blankets  on  the  naked  trees  and 
on  the  land. 

"When  the  animals  reached  home  there  was  no  summer. 
So  the  Fox  Weeska  ran  into  his  den  in  the  rocks,  and  the 
Beaver  Trowel  Ku  cried,  '  Woe  is  me !  the  water  has  become 
white  stone,'  and  the  Loon  Kanecri  sang  a  song  to  the  stars 
and  flew  up  into  the  skies  and  sailed  away  and  away.  But 
Hoota  the  Owl  said,  '  I'm  comfortable,'  and  fell  fast  asleep  in  a 
hollow  stump." 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-DUZ.  43 

The  next  night  Mrs.  Grabeni  herself  came  along  with  her 
little  ones  to  hear  Fuz-buz  relate  a  tale. 

"  Be  sure  it  is  a  nice  story,"  said  one  of  the  spiders. 

"For  my  part,"  cried  Mrs.  Grabem,  "I  take  no  interest  in 
stories,  but  it  pleases  me  to  see  the  youngsters  amused.  You 
may  go  on  while  I  knit,  and  as  I  have  ten  threads  to  mend  let 
the  story  be  a  long  one." 

"  Please  ma'am,"  answered  Fuz-buz,  "  I  will  now  tell  you  a 
story  which  I  flatter  myself  is  the  very  best  one  I  ever  heard. 
It  was  brought  by  a  cousin  of  mine  from  Bagdad,  where  he 
got  it  from  a  very  aristocratic  fly  who  lived  many  years  in  the 
household  of  Sindbad  the  Sailor." 

THE   FOUNTAIN    OF   YOUTH. 

"Once  upon  a  time  there  lived  in  Persia  a  great  King. 
He  had  one  nephew,  who  was  to  be  the  ruler  after  him,  and  to 
have  all  his  kingdom. 

"  When  this  lad  was  about  six  years  old  a  daughter  was 
born  to  the  King.  No  sooner  was  her  birth  known  than  the 
magicians  foretold  that  she  would  be  beautiful,  and  would 
have  blue  eyes  like  lakes,,  which  last  was  not  very  hard  to 
foretell  because  they  were  already  blue,  but  the  magi  also 
declared  that  on  the  day  of  her  marriage  the  King  would 
die. 

"  '  Oh,  ho  !'  said  the  Kinor,  who  was  called  Omar.  '  If  this  be 
so,  she  shall  never  marry,  and  I  shall  live  long  and  pleasantly, 
and  after  me  she  shall  be  Queen.  As  for  my  nephew,  I  fear 
that  he  may  wish  to  be  King  when  he  grows  to  manhood. 


44  -1/^^-    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


Therefore    let    him    be   thrown    into   the   sea.'     Then   an   old 
Magician  arose  and  spoke  thus : 

" '  Be  careful,  oh  King,  not  to  do  this  wicked  act ;  or  if  you 
gready  dread  the  Prince  Ali  give  him  to  me,  and  I  will  carry 
him  far  away  to  an  island  on  the  coast,  where  he  may  be 
taught  as  a  Prince  should  be,  and  where  he  may  live  all  his 
days  and  never  know  what  he  might  have  been.' 

"  Then  said  a  second  counsellor,  '  For  my  part  I  advise 
that  the  Princess  be  shut  up  in  a  palace  around  the  gardens 
of  which  a  wall  shall  be  built,  that  she  may  grow  up  and  see 
none  but  women,  for  so  only  can  you  make  sure  that  she  will 
not  fall  in  love  and  marry.' 

" '  It  were  well,'  said  the  King.  '  Let  the  Magician  take 
the  Prince  as  he  has  said.'  Accordingly  the  next  day  Prince 
Ali  was  carried  to  an  island  many  miles  from  the  main  land 
and  lodged  in  a  fair  palace.  Here  he  was  cared  for  by  trusty 
persons  who  taught  him  all  manner  of  wisdom,  as  well  as  to 
ride  and  hunt  and  swim,  so  that  he  grew  up  brave  and  hand- 
some and  full  of  goodness  and  knowledge. 

"  Meanwhile,  the  Princess  lived  alone  with  her  women  in  a 
gleaming  marble  casde  which  looked  across  the  sea,  and  was 
girt  about  by  a  high  wall  on  every  side  but  that  bounded  by 
the  waters  of  the  ocean. 

"  The  busy  years  went  on,  and  by  and  by  the  litde  girl  grew 
to  be  a  stately  woman,  and  the  Prince  a  tall  and  vigorous  man, 
while  the  King  Omar  became  gray  and  old,  and  was  every 
day  more  greedy  to  live.  Each  morning  he  sent  a  slave  to  see 
how  the  Princess  fared,  and  every  month  he  was  told  all  about 
Prince  Ali,  and  so  made  sure  of  his  constant  safe-keeping. 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  45 

"  One  fine  morning  just  after  a  storm  a  strange  thing 
happened  to  the  Prince.  He  was  walking  up  and  down  the 
beach  and  looking  at  the  waves  which  were  rushing  up  the 
shore  and  sweeping  down  again  with  a  fierce  roar,  when  he 
heard  a  cry  of  distress  among  the  rocks  near  by.  In  a  mo- 
ment he  climbed  towards  the  spot,  and  saw  to  his  great  wonder 
as  he  came  near  long  tresses  of  something  like  thin  seaweed 
floatino-  In  the  wind  from  a  rock  above  him.  He  seized  it  and 
was  more  amazed  to  find  that  it  was  beautiful  hair  like  his  own, 
but  of  a  bright  green  color.  As  he  pulled  It  he  heard  again  a 
cry  of  pain  which  hastened  his  steps. 

"  This  hair  was  wonderful,  for  it  not  only  fell  far  down  the 
cliff  but  lay  on  top  of  the  rocks  and  across  bushes,  and  was 
strung  here  and  there  with  coral  and  great  pearls. 

"When  the  nimble  Prince  had  traced  It  some  thirty  feet  it 
led  him  to  a  deep  hollow  between  two  rocks.  Into  this  he 
descended.  As  he  reached  the  bottom  what  should  he  see 
but  a  little  old  woman,  with  fins  for  hands  and  a  long  scaly 
tail  like  that  of  a  fish.  She  was  such  a  comical  little  old  lady 
that  the  Prince  sat  down  and  laughed  for  five  minutes.  He 
ceased  his  mirth,  however,  when  the  old  creature  waved  her 
fins  in  a  helpless  way  and  groaned  aloud. 

"'What  can  I  do  for  you,  Mrs.  Woman-fish?'  said  he,  'and 
how  came  you  here  ?' 

"'My  dear,'  said  she,  'I  am,  as  you  see,  a  Water-woman. 
I  happened  to  come  on  shore  last  night  just  to  do  a  little 
knitting  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  when  up  came  a  big  storm, 
and  the  waves  eave  me  a  ereat  toss  over  these  rocks  and  into 
this  hole.     But  the  worst  of  it  is  I  have  lost  my  spectacles,  and 


46 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


my  poor  back  Is  nearly  broken,  and  one  fin's  out  of  joint,  and 
I've  lost  a  knitting-needle  and  my  back  comb.  Now  if  you 
would  kindly  carry  me  to  the  edge  of  the  rocks  and  throw 
me  in,  I  think  I  could  reach  home,  but,  as  you  may  notice,  I 
don't  get  along  very  well  upon  land.' 

"The  Prince  was  too  good-natured  to  refuse,  so  he  lifted 
her  carefully,  and  drawing  her  long  hair  after  him  climbed  with 
his  queer  load  to  the  top  of  the  cliff.  Here  he  gave  her  a 
mighty  cast,  and  away  she  went  fifty  feet  down  into  the  sea 
with  her  ereen  hair  sailinor  after  her.  The  moment  she  felt 
the  water  she  rolled  over,  and  kissing  her  fin  to  Prince  Ali 
sculled  away  as  cleverly  as  could  be. 

"The  Prince  said  nothing  about  this  adventure,  but  felt 
sorry  that  he  had  not  asked  her  some  questions,  for  you  must 
know  that  whenever  he  asked  questions  of  the  people  who 
waited  on  him  and  taught  him,  they  were  apt  to  say,  '  Oh,  don't 
bother  me  !  I'm  busy,'  so  that  there  were  many  things  which 
he  desired  to  learn  and  could  not. 

"From  this  day  forward  he  spent  all  of  his  time  upon  the 
shore  and  among  the  rocks.  At  last  one  evening  he  saw  a 
large  white-crested  wave  rolling  in,  and  on  a  sudden  out  of  it 
paddled  the  Water-woman.  She  sculled  up  the  sand,  and 
rolling  over  on  her  back  said  to  the  Prince,  '  My  dear,  I  can 
never  thank  you  enough.  If  the  doctors  had  been  quicker 
about  getting  my  flapper  well,  I  should  have  been  here  long 
ago.' 

"'You  are  most  welcome,'  returned  Ali,  'and  the  more  so 
because  perhaps  you  can  tell  me  who  I  am.' 

"'Sir,'  said  she,  'you  are  a  King's  son.     Your  parents  are 


J//^S.    GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ-BUZ.  47 

dead,  and  your  uncle  has  put  you  here  for  fear  that  you  may 
wish  to  take  the  kingdom  away  from  his  daughter,  the  Princess 
JessaHe,  who  is  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  the  world.  She 
also  is  a  prisoner  within  the  gardens  of  her  palace,  because  it 
has  been  foretold  that  whenever  she  marries,  her  father,  the 
King,  will  die.' 

"'Would  that  I  could  see  her!'  said  the  Prince. 

" '  Sir,'  replied  the  Water-woman,  '  to-morrow  I  will  bring 
you  her  picture,  and  meanwhile  here  are  some  trifles  which  my 
children  have  sent  you  as  tokens  of  their  gratitude.' 

"Thus  saying  she  shook  her  head,  and  a  double  handful  of 
pearls  fell  from  her  hair  and  dropped  at  the  feet  of  the  Prince, 
after  which  the  Water-woman  tumbled  into  the  water  and  swam 
deftly  away. 

"  The  next  morning  early  AH  went  to  the  beach  and  found 
the  Water-woman  waiting  with  a  large  piece  of  crystal  in  her 
flappers, 

"  '  Prince,'  she  said,  '  yesterday  the  Princess  Jessalie  chanced 
to  look  into  a  small  pool  of  water  on  the  shore  where  she 
walks.  As  quick  as  could  be  I  enchanted  the  pool  and  turned 
it  into  a  crystal  mirror,  so  that  the  face  of  the  Princess  is 
fixed  upon  it  forever.  Look,  I  have  brought  it  away  with 
me.' 

"  At  once  the  Prince  regarded  the  mirror,  and  this  was 
what  he  saw  in  it.  Calm,  lazy  eyes  of  blue,  and  below  them 
cheeks  dimpled  and  rosy,  and  twin  lips  which  made  you  jealous 
of  each,  because  ever  they  kissed  one  the  other,  and  brown 
hair  which  must  have  fallen  down  about  this  face  as  it  looked 
into  the  pool  of  water,  and   blue  around   it  all,  the   heavens 


48  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 

which  spread  above  her  as  she  had  bent  to  gaze  at  her  own 
fairness. 

"  *  Ah  !'  said  Ah,  '  this  is  my  fate  !  Take  me  to  this  woman 
swiftly,  that  I  may  see  her  and  die  contented.' 

"  '  Not  so,'  said  the  Water-woman.  '  Be  guided  by  me,  and 
in  time  you  shall  marry  her.  Give  me  a  message  and  I  will 
carry  it  to  the  Princess,  but  as  yet  she  must  not  know  your 
name,  or  it  might  be  that  the  King  hearing  it  would  put  you 
to  death.  Speak  your  message  to  this  shell,  and  I  will  answer 
for  the  rest,' 

"  Thus  saying,  she  pointed  to  a  white  shell  which  lay  on  the 
beach.  The  Prince  took  it  up,  and,  laughing,  whispered  a  few 
words  in  its  curled  lip,  and  then  as  the  Water-woman  bade  him 
threw  it  far  out  into  the  sea. 

"  '  Now,'  said  the  Water-woman,  '  if  you  tell  a  lady  once 
that  you  love  her,  she  laughs.  If  you  tell  her  twice,  she  is 
angry,  but  when  you  have  ten  times  said  "  I  love,"  she  will 
either  hate  or  love  you,  or  perhaps  may  hate  and  love  by  turns, 
each  for  five  minutes  as  sometimes  doth  chance.  Now, 
therefore,  many  times  you  must  say  to  her  "  I  love  you.'" 

"  '  But  how  shall  I  do  this?'  asked  Prince  Ali, 

"  '  Sir,'  she  said,  '  look  upwards  and  clap  your  hands  thrice.' 

"Without  further  words  the  young  man  did  as  he  was  told, 
when  instantly  a  great  white  swan  descended  from  a  vast 
height  and  alighted  on  the  water's  edge  beside  them.  The 
Water-woman  at  once  began  to  dig  in  the  sand,  and  presently 
found  a  large  oyster-shell  which  she  desired  Ali  to  open.  As 
he  did  so,  a  necklace  of  pearls  fell  out,  the  like  of  which  no 
jeweller  ever  saw  before  or  since. 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


49 


" '  Now,'  said  the  Water-woman,  '  hang  this  on  the  swan's 
neck  for  a  present  to  the  Princess,  and  with  thy  finger  write 
on  the  bird's  breast  a  message.' 

"The  Prince  was  lost  in  wonder,  but  without  hesitation  he 
traced  a  few  rapid  letters  on  the  white  breast  of  the  swan. 
As  he  wrote,  the  feathers  where  he  touched  them  grew  scarlet, 
so  that  you  might  read  in  red  letters  '  I  love  thee,'  marked  on 
the  snowy  w^hiteness  of  the  swan's  bosom. 

"  Scarcely  had  he  made  an  end  of  this  short  letter  of  love 
when  the  swan  rose  in  swift  flight  until  she  was  no  longer  to 
be  seen  by  the  amazed  Prince,  who  turned  to  look  at  the 
Water-woman,  though  only  to  find  that  she,  too,  had  vanished. 
Then  in  still  grreater  wonder  Ali  walked  homeward  alono-  the 
water's  edge. 

"  Thus  many  days  went  by  and  brought  no  change,  for  ever 
the  west  winds  blew,  and  ever  the  waves  climbed  the  shore 
and  laid  soft  cheeks  on  the  sands  and  whispered,  and  went 
backward  moaning  again. 

"This  sadness  pleased  the  Prince,  who  lay  on  the  rocks  all 
day  and  heard  the  sobbing  waters,  and  looked  wearily  over  the 
wide  green  ocean  fields  where  the  bubble-crested  foam  came 
and  went  from  sight  like  the  white  clover-blossoms  which 
swayed  amid  their  fields  of  green,  when  the  wind  leaped  across 
the  rocks  and  took  its  pleasure  inland. 

"  One  of  these  days  the  Princess  walked  on  the  shore  with 
her  women,  when  the  youngest  of  them  said,  'What  a  lovely 
shell !'  '  Let  me  hear  what  it  says,'  cried  the  Princess  ;  but  no 
sooner  had  she  put  it  to  her  ear  than  the  shell  murmured  softly, 

'  I    LOVE    YOU.' 

4 


50  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 

"  '  Ah  !'  said  the  Princess  JessaHe  to  the  oldest  of  her  ladies^ 
*  this  shell  sings  to  me  words  new  and  strange.  Tell  me,  I 
pray  you,  what  is  love  ?' 

"  She  had  scarcely  finished  when  all  the  old  ladies  held  up 
their  hands  in  horror,  for  this  and  all  other  such  words  were 
forbidden  within  the  palace  bounds.  The  more  they  made 
faces  and  signs  at  her,  the  more  the  Princess  wished  to  know. 
So  she  kept  saying  condnually,  'What  is  love?  I  will  know 
what  is  love.' 

•'  But  no  one  answered,  and  some  of  the  old  ladies  cried, 
and  some  ran  away,  for  they  all  feared  that  King  Omar  would 
strangle  them  because  the  Princess  had  heard  the  forbidden 
word,  and  because  no  one  of  them  knew  but  that  presently  she 
would  say,  'What  is  a  man?'  or  some  other  such  dreadful  words. 

"  When  at  length  the  Princess  found  herself  alone  with  her 
governess,  she  said  again,  'What  is  love?' 

" '  My  dear  child,'  replied  the  old  lady,  'it  is  a  kind  of 
medicine  !' 

" '  Ah  !'  cried  the  Princess,  '  then  I  see  why  the  ladies  made 
faces  when  I  spoke  of  it.  I  suppose  they  had  all  taken  a  dose. 
But  it  sounds  very  pleasant,'  she  added,  and  all  day  long  she 
went  about  with  the  shell  at  her  ear. 

"The  next  morninof  the  shell  was  crone,  for  the  ladies  had 
taken  it  away  so  that  they  might  prevent  further  mischief  by 
hiding  this  wonderful  shell.  But  before  they  concealed  it  they 
listened  to  hear  it  say  '  I  love  you.'  No  one  listened  twice, 
and  they  all  said  the  shell  was  an  ill-bred  shell  and  had  no 
manners,  though  what  it  said  to  them  I  know  not,  perhaps 
something  true  but  not  pleasant. 


MRS.    GRABEM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  51 

"  The  next  day  while  walking-  in  the  garden  the  Princess 
asked  eagerly  about  her  singing  shell.  While  everybody  pre- 
tended to  look  for  it,  a  whirring  noise  was  heard  and  a  fluttering 
of  white  wings  was  seen  as  the  swan  lit  at  the  feet  of  the  lady 
and  shook  the  pearl  necklace  into  her  lap. 

"  '  Oh,  marvellous  !'  cried  the  Princess.  '  Come  quickly!  look 
at  this  !  see  what  pearls  !  and  Mahomet  preserve  us  !  Bismillah  ! 
Here  is  the  name  of  that  medicine  again,  written  in  scarlet  on 
the  breast  of  this  beautiful  swan,  "  I  love  thee."  ' 

"  No  sooner  had  the  old  ladies  seen  these  fatal  words  than 
they  rushed  at  the  bird  and  beat  it  so  cruelly  that  it  had  hard 
work  to  get  away  even  with  the  help  of  the  Princess  herself. 

"This  time  she  was  so  urgent  to  be  told  more,  and  so 
eager  in  her  questions,  that  the  matter  came  to  the  quick  ears 
of  the  Kine  Omar,  her  father.  At  once  the  o-uards  around 
her  palace  gardens  were  doubled.  Twelve  old  ladies  were  set 
to  work  to  gather  up  all  the  shells  along  shore,  while  twelve 
more  were  ordered  to  keep  strict  watch  lest  any  other  messages 
of  love  should  come  to  the  fair  Jessalie. 

"  Meantime,  none  knew  whence  came  these  strange  words, 
and  the  King  grew  more  and  more  angry  and  alarmed  when- 
ever he  thought  about  it. 

"All  his  precautions  were  in  vain.  One  fine  morning 
every  rose-leaf  in  the  gardens  had  written  upon  it  in  golden 
Arabic  letters,  'I  love  you.' 

"This  drove  the  Kinor  wild,  and  he  commanded  all  the  rose- 
bushes  in  the  kingdom  to  be  cut  down,  which  was  instantly 
done. 

"  The  next  morrow  at  davbreak  a  great  noise  was  heard, 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND    FUZ-BUZ. 


and  when   the  Princess  arose  and   peeped   from  her  window 
every  bird  in  the  garden  was  singing, '  I  love  you,  I  love  you, 

I    LOVE   YOU.' 

"  This  time  the  King  ordered  the  Princess  to  be  shut  up  in 
the  palace.  Then  the  birds  were  driven  away,  and  a  great 
silken  net  hung  over  the  garden  so  that  the  voice  of  the  birds 
might  no  more  be  heard  singing  this  sweet  treason  among  the 
flowers. 

"  Very  soon,  however,  the  Princess  became  so  weary  of  her 
palace  that  she  fell  ill,  and  no  one  dared  to  tell  the  King  that 
all  ni(^ht  lone  in  dreams  she  whispered,  '  I  love  you,  I  love 
you.' 

"  Far  and  near  the  King  sought  counsel  of  all  manner  of 
wise  men  and  doctors,  but  no  one  would  venture  to  order 
medicine  for  the  Princess  without  seeing  her,  and  as  to  a  man 
doing  that,  it  was  out  of  the  question. 

"  About  this  time  the  Water-woman,  who  I  need  not  say 
was  the  merry  maker  of  all  this  mischief,  met  the  Prince  on  the 
beach  one  evening  and  thus  addressed  him: 

"  '  The  Princess  whom  you  love  is  ill,  because  she  has  not 
found  out  who  it  is  that  is  ever  saying  through  the  shells  and 
the  birds  and  the  flowers,  "I  love  you."  Take,  therefore,  this 
mirror,  write  on  it  a  letter  with  your  finger-tip,  and  I  will  see 
that  it  reaches  the  Princess.' 

''The   Prince  gladly  followed  these  directions,  for  though 

when  he  had  traced  words  on  the  glass  he  could  see  nothing  of 

them,  he  felt  sure  of  the  Water-woman's  power  to  help  him. 

"  When  he  had  ended  she  took  the  mirror,  and,  carrying  it 

all  the  way  above  the  waves,  hastened  to  the  mainland.     When 


AfNS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  -3 

she  came  to  the  shore,  she  put  on  a  long  petticoat  to  hide  her 
scaly  fish-tail,  and  drawing  her  fins  through  the  sleeves  of  a 
gown,  mounted  up  on  a  pair  of  crutches  and  hobbled  with 
great  labor  to  the  palace  of  King  Omar.  Here  she  told  the 
guard  to  let  the  King  know  that  a  lame  doctoress  who  had 
come  from  a  far  country  was  waiting  to  cure  the  Princess. 

"  So  soon  as  ever  the  King  heard  this  he  ordered  her  to  be 
admitted.  When  he  set  eyes  upon  her  odd  figure,  he  cried 
out, — 

" '  Quick  !  old  woman,  speak  !  and  that  shortly  !  If  you 
can  cure  my  daughter,  say  so.' 

"  '  Oh,  King !'  she  answered,  '  let  the  lady  look  into  this 
mirror,  but  see  that  no  one  touches  it  on  the  way.  Let  the 
Princess  breathe  upon  it  as  she  looks,  and  if  it  does  not  cure 
her  throw  me  into  the  sea  without  mercy.' 

"'Well  said!'  cried  the  King.  'It  shall  be  as  you  desire. 
Let  the  mirror  be  carried  to  the  Princess.' 

"Accordingly,  that  evening  the  crystal  was  taken  to  the 
palace  with  every  care  and  given  to  Jessalie. 

"  'You  have  but  to  breathe  on  it,'  said  her  governess,  'and 
you  will  be  well.' 

"  '  Give  it  to  me,'  she  said,  and  instantly  blew  a  breath  upon 
its  polished  surface.  As  she  did  so,  to  her  great  amazement 
she  read  these  words  which  seemed  to  come  into  view  on  the 
glass  as  her  breathing  moistened  it,  '  I  love  you.  I,  the 
Prince  Ali  your  cousin,  I  love  you.' 

"  As  her  breath  faded  from  the  glass  the  words  tied  from 
sight,  but  the  Princess  fell  back  murmuring,  '  My  cousin  Ali,  he 
loves  me.' 


54 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


"  Then  there  was  confusion.  The  ladies  tore  their  hair 
and  screamed  aloud,  and  the  slaves  beat  their  breasts,  while 
the  Princess  fainted  away.  In  a  moment  the  news  came  to  the 
Kino-  that  his  dauohter  had  no  sooner  seen  the  mirror  than 
she  had  called  aloud  the  name  of  her  cousin  and  fainted. 

"'Allah!'  muttered  the  King.  'Well  said  the  poet,  "A 
daughter  is  an  achino-  tooth,  and  he  who  doth  not  beat  his  child 
shall  one  day  strike  his  knees  in  vain."  Let  this  old  hag  of  a 
doctor  be  cast  into  the  sea,'  he  added,  '  and  let  the  captain  of 
the  guard  take  ship  speedily  and  slay  this  nephew  of  mine 
whom  I  did  ill  to  spare  so  long.' 

"  Accordingly,  the  Water-woman  was  taken  to  the  rocks 
and  thrown  a  hundred  feet  down  into  the  waves,  where  she 
laughed  a  little,  and  kicking  off  her  petticoats  swam  away 
merrily  to  see  the  Prince,  for  whose  safety  she  had  great 
fears. 

"  Just  as  she  reached  the  island,  she  saw  the  Prince  standing 
on  a  rock  and  bravely  defending  himself  against  the  guard  of 
the  King. 

"  As  quick  as  could  be  she  called  to  him  to  leap  off  of  the 
rocks  into  the  sea,  for  although  he  had  killed  at  least  a  dozen 
of  his  foes  he  was  faint  and  sorely  pressed.  When  he  heard 
her  call,  he  smote  the  captain  of  the  guard  a  fierce  blow,  and 
bounding  up  the  rocks,  hesitated  an  instant,  and  then  leaped 
boldly  into  the  foaming  waters  at  their  feet. 

"  For  a  moment  he  felt  his  strength  fail,  then  he  saw  a 
thousand  colors  before  his  eyes,  then  a  gray  mist  came  over 
them,  and  after  that  darkness,  until  he  awakened  as  from  a 
dream  of  death. 


J/y^S.   GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  55 

"  When  he  became  conscious,  he  was  under  the  water  seated 
at  the  foot  of  a  vast  tree  of  coral.  About  him  was  a  forest  of 
hke  trees,  hung  with  huge  pearls  and  covered  with  sea-weed 
of  many  tints,  among  which  great  fish  and  nameless  ocean 
beasts  floated  lazily  to  and  fro. 

" '  Come,'  said  the  Water-woman,  '  you  are  now  a  son  of 
the  sea.     Let  us  go.' 

"  Upon  this  he  arose  and  in  a  great  maze  of  wonder 
walked  along,  while  the  Water-woman  swam  easily  by  his  side. 
Sometimes  they  passed  huge  heaps  of  amber,  and  sometimes 
turned  aside  from  the  wrecks  of  mighty  ships,  or  else  trode 
through  caverns  whose  sand  was  gold-dust  and  gleaming  jewels, 
till  at  length  they  came  to  a  vast  wall  of  rock. 

"  Here  the  Water-woman  knocked,  and  a  door  opened  and 
let  them  into  a  mighty  hall  builded  throughout  of  the  purest 
jasper. 

"  But  what  the  Prince  saw  here  no  one  will  ever  know,  for 
here  the  Water-men  and  Water-maids  lived,  and  here  they 
made  the  Prince  so  welcome  that  he  would  never  have  wished 
for  earth  again  if  the  Princess  whom  he  loved  had  only  been 
with  him. 

"  Meanwhile,  King  Omar  felt  himself  growing  old  and 
feeble,  but  the  nearer  he  came  to  death  the  more  he  desired  to 
live.  Then  there  came  into  his  head  a  cunning  way  to  cheat 
the  Angel  of  Death.  He  therefore  summoned  his  counsel, 
and  spake  to  them  thus, — 

"  '  It  has  been  foretold  that  I  shall  die  when  my  daughter 
marries.  Now  let  proclamation  be  made  that  whosoever  shall 
bring  to  me  a  cup  of  water  from  the  fountain  of  youth  shall 


56 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


have  the  Princess  for  his  wife.  So  shall  I  drink  of  the  water 
and  become  young  again,  and  that  which  was  to  kill  me  shall 
brinor  nie  life.' 

"  Then  there  was  silence  awhile,  till  at  last  an  aged  Mufti 
arose. 

*' '  Oh,  King  !'  said  he,  '  beware  how  you  resist  the  words  of 
fate.  Is  it  so  easy  to  live  rightly  that  you  would  crave  for  more 
of  life  ?  He  who  lengthens  the  life  of  this  world  makes  shorter 
the  life  of  the  world  to  come.     Beware !' 

"  '  Fool !'  said  the  King, '  thou  art  ten  years  younger  than  I. 
Let  it  be  as  I  have  said.' 

Soon  after  this  the  Water-woman  said  to  Ali,  '  It  is  time. 
Prince,  that  you  left  us.  The  King  desires  a  cup  of  the 
fountain  of  youth,  and  to  him  who  brings  it  he  will  give  the 
Princess.  Therefore  have  no  fear,  but  take  your  sword  and 
this  crystal  flask,  and  passing  through  yonder  gateway  journey 
on  until  you  reach  a  deep  valley,  at  the  bottom  of  which  you 
will  find  the  fountain.  Drink  none,  but  fill  your  flask  and 
hasten  to  the  King  without  pause  or  fear.' 

"With  this  counsel  the  Prince  took  his  sword,  and  tying 
the  flask  about  his  neck  set  out.  As  he  stepped  through  the 
gateway  of  amber  he  looked  up  and  saw  above  him  the 
splendid  blue  of  the  deep  sea  like  one  vast  quiet  sapphire. 
Before  him  a  gradual  slope  led  downwards  over  rocks  and  sea- 
grasses  which  at  last  ceased,  and  he  came  upon  a  floor  of  sand 
whiter  than  the  purest  snow. 

"As  the  descent  ended  he  saw  in  front  of  him  a  majestic 
aneel  of  vast  heieht.  Her  foot  rested  on  a  marble  skull  of 
huge  proportions,  and  upon  her  brow  was  written  Azrael. 


J//^S.    GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ-BUZ.  57 


"  For  a  moment  the  Prince  paused  in  dread  ;  then  he  took 
courage  and  said  humbly, — 

'"Is  this  the  fountain  of  youth?'  As  he  ceased,  the  angel 
murmured,  *  Death  is  the  mother  of  life',  and  solemnly  struck 
the  skull  with  her  wand.  Instandy  a  purple  liquid  gushed 
from  under  the  skull  and  floated  in  slow  spirals  upwards 
through  the  still  water. 

"With  a  bound  the  Prince  knelt  at  the  skull,  filled  his  flask, 
and  turned  away  in  haste,  for  already  the  purple  color  was 
tintino-  the  whole  sea  about  him,  and  he  remembered  well  the 
warning. 

"  Three  days  after  this,  Ali  reached  the  court  of  King  Omar. 
To  his  great  joy  he  found  the  court  sitting,  and  the  King  on 
his  throne. 

"  So  splendid  was  Prince  All's  dress  and  so  noble  his  air 
that  no  one  stopped  him,  and  he  entered  freely  and  un- 
questioned. Before  him  sat  the  King,  his  uncle.  He  was  very 
old,  but  still  vigorous  enough  to  live  for  many  years  beyond 
the  common  span  of  human  life. 

"  Ali  listened  while  the  Mufds  read  aloud  the  promise  of 
the  King,  that  whosoever  brought  the  cup  of  water  from  the 
fountain  of  youth  should  marry  the  Princess  Jessalie. 

''  No  sooner  had  they  ended  than  Ali  bowed  before  the 
throne. 

" '  Oh,  King !'  said  he,  '  I  am  the  Prince  Ali,  thy  nephew, 
whom  you  would  have  slain.  I  have  brought  to  you  here  a 
cup  of  the  water  of  the  fountain  of  youth.  Drink,  but  read 
first  what  words  have  come  on  the  flask  since  I  filled  it  at  the 
fountain.     Drink,  then,  if  you  will,  and  give  me  the  Princess, 


5S 


MI^S.    GRAB  EM  AND    FUZ-BUZ. 


for  by  my  sword  this  is  water  of  the  fountain  of  youth  and 
none  other,' 

" '  Ha !'  said  the  King,  '  give  It  to  me !'  and  tottering  he 
arose  and,  descending  a  few  steps,  seized  the  flask.  Then  he 
tore  from  it  the  silver  cover  with  which  the  Prince  had  sealed  it. 

"At  once  a  dense  purple  vapor  rose  in  clouds  from  the  lip 
of  the  flask  and  curled  upwards  through  the  hall.  Whosoever 
breathed  of  this  his  eyes  flashed  and  he  dreamed  of  mornings 
long  ago,  and  of  fair  women  and  of  boyhood,  so  that  all  who 
felt  it  stood  bewildered. 

"  Then  cried  the  King,  '  I  drink  to  youth !'  and  would  have 
drained  the  flask,  but  Ali  held  his  hand  and  bade  him  read  the 
words  which  were  graven  upon  the  vessel. 

"'It  is  but  a  moment  to  wait  for  youth,'  cried  the  King, 
and  turnine  to  a  Magician,  bade  him  read  the  words,  '  for,' 
said  he,  '  I  am  old,  and  my  sight  fails  me.' 

"  '  Oh,  my  master  !'  said  the  Magician,  '  these  are  the  words  : 

"  He  who  steals  to-morrows 
Shall  drink  the  wine  of  sorrows."  ' 

"  Then  the  aeed  counsellor  fell  back  with  an  altered  face 
as  he  breathed  the  purple  fumes.  '  Woe  is  me !  I  am 
stronger!  I  am  grown  younger !  Woe  is  me!  I  am  farther 
from  Allah.' 

"  But  the  King,  saying  no  word,  set  the  flask  to  his  lips 
and  drained  it  to  the  utmost  drop.  Then  with  a  cry  of  delight 
he  threw  the  vessel  away,  and  shouting  aloud,  '  I  am  young 
again  !'  bounded  up  the  steps  and  pausing  faced  the  mutely- 
wonderinor  crowd. 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


59 


"When  he  turned,  he  was  seen  as  a  man  in  the  lusty  vigor 
of  Hfe,  stalwart  and  strong  of  limb. 

** '  Ho  !'  he  said,  'my  guard!'  but  none  stirred,  for  his  face 
was  still  changing,  and  now  his  beard  was  gone,  and  it  was  a 
lad  who  sat  upon  the  throne,  and  a  lad's  voice  which  cried 
aloud, — 

"  '  This  man  to  the  dungeons  !  What  ho  !  my  guard  !' 
And  yet  they  moved  not,  for  the  lad  was  now  a  child. 

"  Still  the  stern  will  worked,  and  the  child-King  said 
faintly, '  My  guards  !  my  guards  !'  till  his  voice  broke  into  baby 
lispings,  and  now  it  was  an  infant  who  sat  upon  the  throne, 

"Then  the  chanees  seemed  to  cease,  and  the  ancient  coun- 
sellor  who  had  so  wisely  warned  the  King  cried  aloud,  '  Allah 
il  Allah  !  great  and  wonderful  are  thy  ways  !' 

"When  one  man  had  thus  broken  silence,  a  mighty  tumult 
arose,  amidst  which  the  baby-King  looked  right  and  left  with 
blue  eyes  of  wonder. 

"  But  Ali  drew  his  sword,  and  in  a  terrible  voice  ordered 
the  guard  to  clear  the  hall.  Instantly  he  was  obeyed,  and  then 
there  was  great  counsel  held  as  to  what  should  be  done  with 
the  King.  At  length  it  was  decided  that  he  should  be  sent  to 
the  island  where  Ali  had  lived,  and  be  kept  there  all  his  days. 
These,  indeed,  proved  few,  for  it  is  recorded  in  the  chronicles 
of  the  kincrdom  that  he  took  teethino^  rather  hard,  and  died  in 
his  second  summer  of  malignant  whooping-cough. 

"  As  to  Prince  Ali,  he  married  his  cousin  the  Princess 
Jessalie,  and  the  Water-men  and  the  Water-maids  came  to  the 
wedding  and  brought  with  them  for  presents  pearls  and  amber 
and  tortoise-shells  such  as  folks  never  see  nowadays. 


6o  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ-BUZ. 

"They  lived  long  together,  and  loved  one  another  well,  and 
they  both  died  at  one  and  the  same  moment,  which  was  the 
happiest  thing  of  all  their  happy  lives." 

The  sun  was  not  yet  down  on  the  next  evening  when  the 
young  spiders  began  to  collect  around  Fuz-buz. 

"Tell  us,"  said  one  of  them,  "a  story  about  giants." 

"There's  a  jolly  idea,"  cried  another.  "  Is  it  to  be  a  spider 
giant?" 

"  Ahem  !"  replied  Fuz-buz.  "  I  wish  there  were  such  giants, 
and  I  wish  one  of  them  would  come  along  this  very  moment 
and  gobble  you  all  up." 

This  he  said  in  so  fierce  a  voice  that  the  young  spiders  ran 
away  squealing  so  loud  that  if  you  had  been  a  spider  you 
mio-ht  have  heard  them  at  least  three  inches  off. 

As  for  Mrs.  Grabem,  she  hurried  in  a  rage  to  Fuz-buz  and 
gave  him  a  shake,  saying,  "  Have  a  care,  old  rascal,  how  you 
scare  my  young  ones.  Tell  them  a  story  at  once,  or  you  shall 
never  tell  another  on  this  earth." 

"Yes,  madam,"  answered  Fuz-buz,  very  meekly,  and  as 
soon  as  ever  he  could  get  his  breath  he  began  as  follows,  to 
tell  them  the  story  of  Krusstikuss  and  Growlegrum. 

KRUSSTIKUSS   AND   GROWLEGRUM. 

"  There  have  been  many  giants,  I  believe,  but  there  never 
were  any  others  like  the  great  giant  Growlegrum  and  his  twin 
brother  Krusstikuss. 

"These    two    giants    were   both    of   them    Ogres.       Their 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZBUZ.  6 1 

mother  was  an  Afrite,  and  their  grandfather  a  Ghoul.  On 
which  account  they  were  probably  the  most  unpleasant  giants 
that  anybody  ever  came  across. 

"When  very  young,  they  were  tall  and  stout,  but  one  day, 
unluckily  for  Krusstikuss,  his  grandmother,  who  was  a  fat 
giantess,  sat  down  on  him. 

"  Not  feeling  anything  in  particular,  she  fell  asleep,  and  did 
not  awaken  for  three  months. 

"Of  course  it  was  hard  for  Krusstikuss  to  grow  while  his 
grandmother  sat  upon  him,  so  he  began  to  spread  out  sideways 
and  never  afterwards  grot  out  of  the  habit.  He  therefore 
became  as  fat  as  a  bun,  while  his  brother  Growlegrum  grew 
as  tall  as  the  highest  tree. 

"  So  one  was  tall,  and  one  stout,  but  both  were  of  the  same 
size  in  wickedness  ;  and  as  to  Krusstikuss  he  liked  to  eat 
babies,  while  Growlegrum  was  fond  of  young  ladies. 

"  When  these  monsters  grew  up,  they  ate  so  many  people 
that  their  father  told  them  they  would  cause  a  famine,  and 
must  go  away  and  find  another  land  where  people  were  more 
plenty. 

"  At  last  they  took  his  advice  and  started  out  together  to 
seek  a  new  home.  After  eating  a  great  many  folks,  they  came 
to  a  beautiful  country  where  lived  a  King  who  had  a  daughter 
as  good  as  she  was  pretty. 

"  When  the  two  giants  reached  the  borders  of  this  land, 
they  sat  down  and  began  to  talk. 

" '  I  am  getting  so  big,'  said  Krusstikuss,  '  that  I  find  it  a 
labor  to  walk  about  and  look  for  babies.  They  must  be  very 
scarce.' 


62  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ  BUZ. 

"  '  Not  more  so  than  young  ladies,'  cried  Growlegrum.  '  I 
should  think  they  would  like  to  be  eaten  before  they  grow  to 
be  old  and  ugly,  but  really  it  does  not  seem  so.' 

"  While  they  were  thus  lamenting  the  scarcity  of  food,  an 
old  woman  with  a  red  cap  and  a  green  kirde  came  from  the 
wood  and  stood  before  them. 

" '  Sirs,'  said  she,  '  I  am  a  cousin  of  yours,  and  also  a  witch. 
Why  should  you  be  troubled  about  your  meals  ?  Order  the 
King  Hassan  to  send  hither  twice  every  day  ten  fat  babies  and 
one  young  lady.' 

" '  Good,'  said  the  giants ;  '  we  can  lie  on  these  hills  and  eat 
and  sleep  without  labor.  So  let  it  be.  Go  you  to  King 
Hassan  and  tell  him  to  send  us  the  babies  and  the  young  ladies 
without  fail,  or  else  we  will  eat  him  and  fry  him  first.' 

"  '  This  made  the  old  witch  chuckle,  and  she  went  away 
quickly  towards  the  city  with  her  wicked  news.  Presently  she 
entered  the  palace,  for  she  was  a  cousin  of  the  King,  and  went 
straip-ht  to  the  earden,  where  she  told  King  Hassan  that  the 
two  giants  were  on  the  borders  of  his  country,  and  must  have 
ten  babies  and  a  young  lady  twice  a  day,  or  else  they  would 
eat  the  King  and  fry  him  first,  which  made  Hassan  feel  hot  all 
over. 

"  He  soon  saw  that  he  could  do  nothing  against  such  vast 
monsters,  and  therefore  beat  his  breast  and  ordered  his 
captains  to  take  to  the  giants  the  babies  and  the  young  ladies. 

"You  maybe  sure  that  when  this  happened  twice  a  day 
for  a  week  folks  began  to  be  very  much  troubled.  By  and  by 
the  mammas  hid  away  the  babies  in  tree-tops  and  chimneys  and 
in  all  sorts  of  out-of-the-way  places.     And  as  to  young  ladies. 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  63 

there  were  none  to  be  found,  for  every  one  of  them  put  on 
her  brother's  pantaloons,  and  it  was  hard  work  to  catch  a 
woman  at  all. 

"  It  chanced  about  this  time  that  the  Princess  was  walking 
in  a  wood  near  the  palace  when  she  saw  a  young  girl  crying. 
Now,  as  the  Princess  was  very  kind-hearted,  she  stopped  at 
once,  and  said, — 

"  *  Why  do  you  cry  ?     What  ails  you  ?' 

"  '  Oh,  dear  !'  said  the  other  ;  '  to-morrow  I  am  to  be  taken 
by  the  guard  to  be  eaten  by  the  Ogres  Growlegrum  and 
Krusstikuss  ;  and  when  I  am  gone  who  will  comfort  my  old 
mother,  for  she  has  no  child  but  me  ?' 

"  When  the  Princess  heard  this,  she  told  her  to  wait  a  little, 
and  went  herself  to  find  the  Kingf. 

"  '  Father,'  said  she,  '  it  is  hard  that  all  the  voune  mrls  should 
be  eaten  alive  by  these  false  giants.  Why  do  you  not  raise 
an  army  and  go  and  fight  and  kill  them  ?  It  is  base  to  give 
up  to  them  in  this  way.  Were  I  a  man,  I  would  slay  them 
myself.' 

" '  It  would  be  in  vain  to  try,'  answered  the  King. 

"  *  Well,'  said  the  Princess,  '  to-morrow  I  shall  go  alone  in 
place  of  the  maiden  who  is  chosen,  and  perhaps  some  good 
knight  will  not  willingly  let  me  die  so  mean  a  death.' 

"The  King  was  very  angry,  but^the  Princess  was  obstinate. 
Then  a  young  Prince  who  was  present  arose  and  said, — 

'' '  I  have  come,  lady,  a  thousand  miles  to  help  you.  My 
name  is  Prince  Bluets,  and  I  am  the  great-grandson  of  John, 
who  is  sometimes  called  Jack,  the  Giant-killer,  Go  to  the 
giants  as  you  have  said,  and  all  will  yet  be  well.' 


64  MRS.    GRABEM  AND  FUZ BUZ. 

"Then  the  Princess  looked  and  saw  that  the  Prince  had 
brave  eyes  and  was  fair  of  face ;  so  she  repHed, — 

"  *  It  shall  be  as  you  say.' 

"'To-morrow,  then,'  continued  the  Prince,  'you  shall  go  to 
the  giants,  and  I  will  follow  you.  But  first  take  this  amulet 
and  hang  it  around  your  neck.  So  long  as  you  wear  it  all 
things  living  and  dead  will  love  you,  and  no  giant  will  wish  to 
eat  you.' 

"Thus  saying,  he  hung  around  her  neck  a  gold  chain,  and 
at  once  she  went  away  and  ordered  her  horse  to  ride  to  the 
giants.  Meanwhile,  it  was  proclaimed  that  out  of  love  for  her 
people  the  Princess  was  going  to  beg  the  giants  to  go  away 
and  not  to  eat  any  more  babies. 

"  As  for  the  Princess,  she  sent  word  to  the  little  maiden  in 
the  wood  that  she  was  going  in  her  place,  and  then  bravely 
mounted  her  horse  and  rode  through  the  town  to  the  gate. 

"  No  sooner  did  the  people  see  her  than  they  began  to 
follow  her,  because  the  amulet  made  every  one  wish  to  be  near 
to  her.  But  at  the  gate  she  bade  them  return,  and  rode  away 
alone  into  the  wood,  though  even  there  the  charm  still  worked, 
and  all  thinors  loved  her  more  and  more.  The  sun  stared  her 
in  the  eyes  like  a  gallant  overbold,  and  the  wind  played  with 
her  chestnut  hair  and  was  happy,  and  the  leaves  bent  down 
and  kissed  her,  and  all  the  mice  and  the  birds  and  the  bears 
and  the  foxes  came  out  and  followed  her. 

"  But  when  she  came  near  to  the  two  Ogres  and  saw  them 
sitting  on  a  hill  with  their  white  eyes  and  rough  faces  and 
ereat  black  teeth  like  marble  tombstones,  all  the  animals 
set  up  a  dismal  howl  and  ran  away.     Yet  still  the  lady  rode 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  65 

along,   and    presently   the   two   giants    became   aware   of   her 
presence. 

"Then  said  Growlegrum,  '  Here  conies  dinner ;'  but  when 
she  drew  nearer,  he  added,  'She's  too  pretty  to  eat.  Who  are 
yon,  my  dear?' 


"  '  I  am  the  Princess  Violet,'  said  she,  '  the  Kind's  daughter.' 
"  '  Hah  !'  said  both  of  the  Ogres  ;  'you  shall  be  my  wife.' 
"'Well,'  cried  she,  T  cannot  have  two  husbands.     Put  me 

in  a  safe  place,  and  after  I  have  known  you  both  for  a  month  I 

can  decide  which  I  will  have  for  my  husband.' 

"  '  Good,'  returned  Krusstikuss.     '  So  let  it  be.'     Then  they 

lifted  her  gently  and  put  her  near  by  in  a  castle  whose  owner 

they  had  devoured,  and  every  day  they  brought  her  goodies  to 

eat, — enough  for  twenty  dinners. 

"  In  the  morning  came  Growlegrum  and  looked  over  the 

castle  wall  and  said,  '  I  love  you,  my  dear.'     But  in  the  after- 

5 


56  MRS.   GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ-BUZ. 


noons  came  Krusstikuss  and  said, '  Bless  me  I  how  I  love  you  1' 
Now  the  Princess  knew  that  within  a  month  she  should  hear 
of  Prince  Bluets. 

"  As  for  that  Prince,  he  went  away  to  a  Magician  and  asked 
him  how  he  could  become  thin. 

"'There  are  four  ways,'  answered  the  magician: 

"  *  Eat  nothing, 

"  *  Fall  in  love, 

"  'Become  jealous,  and 

"  •  Think  ever  so  much.' 

'« Then  said  the  Prince,  '  The  advice  is  good,'  and  so  saying 
he  gave  him  three  links  of  a  gold  chain  which  he  wore,  and 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  swifdy  until  he  came  to  a  high  hill 
which  at  a  great  distance  overlooked  the  casde  where  the  lady 
was.  Here  he  sat  down  and  with  his  spy-glass  looked  until  he 
saw  Krusstikuss  kissing  his  great  hand  to  the  lady. 

"This  made  him  horribly  jealous,  and  at  once  he  began  to 
get  thin.  Then  for  four  days  he  ate  nothing,  and  so  became 
thinner  and  thinner.  Of  course  he  was  miserably  in  love,  and 
this  also  made  him  lose  flesh. 

"After  four  days  he  was  still  too  fat;  so  he  began  to  think 
of  all  the  hard  conundrums  and  riddles  and  charades  that  ever 
were  heard  of;  but  at  last,  when  he  had  been  two  days  thinking 
how  to  make  apple-pies  out  of  donkeys,  he  became  so  thin  that 
his  bones  were  no  thicker  than  walking-sticks,  and  when  he 
stood  sideways  he  had  no  shadow  at  all. 

"  Then  he  took  his  sword,  and,  walking  carefully  for  fear 
of  breakino;  into  halves  or  of  being  blown  away,  he  descended 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  67 


the  hill,  and  late  at  night  knocked  at  a  side-door  of  the  castle 
where  the  Princess  Violet  now  lived. 

"  As  soon  as  she  heard  the  noise  she  came  to  the  door  and 
said,  'Who  is  it?' 

"  '  It  is  I,'  answered  the  Prince  ;  but  his  voice  was  so  thin 
that  he  could  hardly  be  heard,  and  if  the  Princess  had  not 
loved  him  she  never  would  have  been  able  to  hear  a  word  he 
said. 

"  '  My  love,'  he  cried,  '  it  is  I,  Prince  Bluets.  Presently  I 
shall  squeeze  my  head  through  the  key-hole,  and  you  must 
then  seize  me  by  the  hair  and  drag  me  in.' 

"  Of  course  giants'  casdes  have  very  large  key-holes,  and  as 
the  Prince  was  as  thin  as  could  be  he  easily  pushed  his  head 
through  the  key-hole,  when  the  Princess  took  hold  of.  his  hair, 
and  pretty  soon  drew  him  into  the  castle. 

"  She  was  very  much  amazed  when  she  saw  him  so  lean  and 
meagre,  but  the  Prince  explained  it  all,  and  they  sat  down  and 
had  a  good  talk  until  morning,  when  the  Prince  hid  away  in  a 
corner  under  some  hay. 

"  By  and  by  came  Krusstikuss,  and  looking  over  the  castle 
wall  said,  in  a  large  voice,  'I  love  you,  my  dear.  Here  are 
some  nice  little  dishes  for  breakfast;'  and  so  saying  he 
emptied  his  pockets  of  about  two  wagon-loads  of  cakes  and 
candy  and  bonbons  and  all  kinds  of  goodies  such  as  Princesses 
eat. 

"  '  Sir,'  said  the  Princess,  '  if  I  am  to  be  a  giant's  wife,  I 
must  learn  to  eat  babies.  If  you  love  me,  you  will  bring  me 
all  the  babies  you  get,  that  I  may  keep  them  until  they  get  so 
fat  and  tender  that  I  shall  be  tempted  to  eat  them.' 


58  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


"  '  But  what  shall  I  live  on  myself?'  cried  Krusstikiiss. 
" '  Oh,'  said  the  Princess,  '  if  you  are  in  love,  you  will  not 
care  to  eat.' 

"  '  That's  queer,'  returned  the  giant ;  '  but  I  suppose  it  won't 
hurt  me  to  suck  my  paws  for  a  while  like  the  bears.' 

"Then  he  took  four  babies  out  of  his  hat  and  two  out  of 
his  pockets,  saying,  '  I  am  sorry,  but  I  ate  four  on  the  way. 
To-morrow  you  shall  have  all,  and  when  you  get  them  fat 
enough  I  will  come  and  dine  with  you.' 

"  After  this  he  went  away,  leaving  the  babies  to  the  Prin- 
cess, who  put  them  all  in  a  row  and  fed  them  with  nine  dough- 
nuts apiece,  so  that  if  they  did  not  get  fat  it  was  not  her  fault. 
"  In  the  afternoon  came  Growlegrum,  who  was  as  big  in 
length  as  Krusstikuss  was  sideways. 

"  '  My  love,'  said  he,  when  he  had  peeped  over  the  wall, 
*  what's  this  ?     Babies  ?' 

"'Sir,'  she  replied,  'your  brother  loves  me,  and  has  prom- 
ised me  all  the  babies,' that  I  may  fatten  them.  If  you  also 
love  me  at  all,  you  will  give  me  the  young  ladies  you  were  to 
eat  every  day,  that  I  may  have  some  one  to  take  care  of  the 
babies  and  feed  them.' 

"  '  Ah  me  !'  said  the  giant.     '  I  shall  die  of  starvation.' 
" '  Don't,  if  you  love  me,'  said  Violet. 

"  '  Enough  !'  cried  Growlegrum.  '  Here,  lovely  Princess,  is 
the  first,  and  every  day  you  shall  have  another.' 

"So  saying,  he  jerked  a  beautiful  young  lady  out  of  his 
pocket,  and  set  her  down  inside  of  the  casde. 
"  '  Good-by,'  said  the  Princess. 
"  '  Good-by,'  said  the  giant.     '  If  I  stay.  I  shall  steal  a  baby.' 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  69 

"  So  he  gnashed  his  ugly  grim  teeth,  and  wali-ced  away  with 
vast  steps. 

"When  he  was  out  of  sight,  Prince  Bluets  came  forth,  and 
the  Princess  and  he  laughed  with  joy,  because  of  the  babies 
whom  they  had  saved.  But  as  there  was  no  time  to  lose,  the 
Prince  kissed  her  and  wriggled  through  the  key-hole  again. 

"  Then  in  haste  he  ran  into  the  woods  and  took  the  road 
which  led  to  the  city  where  King  Hassan  lived. 

"  On  the  way  he  heard  voices,  and  climbing  a  tree  he  list- 
ened eagerly  until  he  learned  that  these  came  from  five  per- 
sons who  were  dressed  in  lono-  robes  and  were  ridinof  from  the 
town.  By  good  luck  they  rested  a  little  while  just  under  the 
tree  in  which  Bluets  lay  hidden.  He  soon  understood  that  all 
five  were  lawyers  whom  the  King  had  sent  to  see  Krusstikuss, 
that  they  might  offer  the  Princess  in  marriage  to  him  with  half 
of  the  kingdom  if  he  would  send  his  brother  away,  and  learn 
to  eat  beef  and  mutton  in  place  of  babies. 

'"  Ho!'  said  the  Prince;  'this  won't  do.'  So  he  waited  till 
they  left,  and  descending  ran  back  to  the  castle  and  called  the 
Princess. 

"  Then  through  the  key-hole  he  gave  her  a  little  advice 
about  the  five  lawyers.  After  this  he  went  away  once  more 
towards  the  city. 

"  As  for  the  Princess,  she  waved  her  handkerchief  from  the 
castle  wall  until  Growlegrum  espied  her  and  strode  over  the 
hills  and  valleys  to  the  castle. 

"'Sir,'  she  said,  'do  not  be  surprised  if  you  see  a  party 
of  men  in  gowns  coming  from  the  city.  Go  and  meet  them. 
If  they  think  you  are  Krusstikuss,  they  will  tell  you  something.' 


jQ  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ  BUZ. 


"  '  Good,'  answered  he.     '  Now   I   perceive   that  you  love 

me.' 

"Then,  without  waiting,  he  walked  towards  the  city.  A 
litde  way  on  he  met  the  five  lawyers.  As  soon  as  they  saw 
him,  they  dismounted  and  threw  themselves  on  the  ground. 

"  '  What  do  ye  want  ?'   roared  Growlegrum. 

"  '  Oh,  sir  !'  said  they,  '  we  would  see  the  great  giant  Kruss- 
tikuss.' 

"  '  It  is  well,'  returned  the  giant.     '  Speak.' 

"'Sir,'  said  they,  'we  come  to  offer  to  the  great  giant 
Krusstikuss  one-half  of  the  kingdom  and  the  Princess  for  a 
wife.' 

"'Ha!'  answered   the  giant;  'and  what  shall   his  brother 

have  ?' 

" '  Perhaps,'  returned  one  of  the  lawyers,  '  he  might  be 
persuaded  to  leave,  or  else  your  Highness  could  quiedy  knock 
him  on  the  head.' 

"'Scoundrels!'  roared  Growlegrum,  'my  name  is  not 
Krussdkuss.     I'll  teach  you  to  make  trouble,  you  rascals.' 

"  '  Upon  this  he  seized  them  one  after  another,  and  ate  the 
whole  five  The  effects  of  this  meal  were  dreadful.  In  five 
minutes  Growlegrum  was  bent  double  with  stomach-ache,  for 
you  see  the  lawyers  disagreed  with  him,  and  they  also  disagreed 
with  one  another  inside  of  him. 

"  But  this  was  not  all,  for  in  a  few  moments  he  began  to 
grow  so  quarrelsome  that  he  became  the  most  unsafe  giant 
diat  could  anywhere  be  found. 

"  In  half  an  hour  he  was  outrageous,  and  by  the  time  he 
met  his  brother  he  was  ready  to  fight  anybody. 


MJiS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  7 1 

"  Well,  the  end  of  it  was  they  did  fight.  They  fought  for 
two  days  and  two  nights,  when  Krusstikuss  got  so  weak  that 
Growlegrum  took  him  up  by  the  heels  and  stood  him  on  his 
head  and  gave  him  a  mighty  spin,  for  he  was  made  just  like  a 
top,  and  then,  while  he  was  spinning,  treated  him  to  a  kick, 
and  hoisted  him  over  two  hills  into  the  sea,  where  he  spun  to 
the  bottom  and  never  more  was  heard  of. 

"  When  this  awful  battle  was  over,  Growlegrum  sat  on  a 
hill  and  began  to  pick  his  teeth  with  a  fence-rail.  Meanwhile, 
Prince  Bluets  hastened  to  the  city. 

"  He  had  gone  but  a  little  way  when  who  should  he  see 
but  his  great-great-grandfather  Jack  the  Giant-killer,  who  had 
journeyed  a  long  way  to  see  what  had  become  of  Bluets. 
After  they  had  embraced  one  another,  the  Prince  told  his 
grandfather  all  that  had  passed. 

'■ '  You  have  done  well,'  said  Jack  ;  *  but  we  must  now  get 
rid  of  this  other  giant,  who  I  hear  is  a  terrible  fellow.  Let  us 
Qfo  and  see  him.' 

"  *  Very  well,'  replied  Bluets,  '  we  will  go ;'  and,  so  saying, 
they  turned,  and  very  soon  spied  Growlegrum  sitting  on  the 
hill.     As  soon  as  ever  he  saw  them,  he  roared  out, — 

"  '  Dinner !     Here  comes  my  dinner  !' 

"When  they  had  come  still  nearer,  Jack  cried  aloud,  'I  am 
Jack  the  Giant-killer,  and  I  have  come  to  visit  you.' 

"  '  Ha  !  ha !'  laughed  the  giant.  '  You  are  a  little  man,  and 
brave.' 

"'There  Is  one  thing  you  cannot  do,  big  though  you  be,' 
said  Jack. 

" '  Name  it,'  said  Growlegrum.     '  I  can  pull  up  trees,  and 


72  MJiS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


kick  down  towns,  and  chew  rocks,  and  eat  you.     What  Is  there 
I  cannot  do?' 

"'Sir,'  answered  Jack,  'all  these  things  are  easy,' 

'"If  I  cannot  eat  anything  and  kill  anybody,  I  will  quit  this 
land  and  go  home,'  said  the  giant,  in  a  rage. 

"  '  Good  !'  cried  Jack.     '  Come  with  us.' 

"  Upon  this  the  giant  picked  them  both  up  and  walked  off 
in  the  direction  which  Jack  pointed  out.  Presendy  they  came 
to  a  house. 

" '  Stop  !'  said  Jack,  and  the  giant  set  them  down. 

"  '  Eat  the  man  who  lives  in  that  house,'  said  Jack. 

"  '  Poh  !'  cried  Growlegrum,  and  gave  the  house  a  kick  which 
knocked  it  down  in  a  twinkling.  Then  he  pulled  out  of  the 
ruins  a  man,  who  began  to  roar  for  mercy. 

"  '  Oh  dear  !'  he  said  ;   '  don't  eat  me.' 

"  '  Who  is  he  ?'  asked  the  giant. 

"  '  A  doctor,'  cried  Jack. 

"  '  Eat  him  ?  Excuse  me,'  said  the  giant.  '  I  was  nearly 
poisoned  by  five  lawyers.  I  can't  run  any  more  risks.  I  don't 
want  to  be  poisoned.     You  must  think  I  am  a  fool.' 

"  '  Eat  him  !'  cried  Jack. 

"  '  No,  sir,'  said  Krusstikuss.  '  I'd  rather  leave.  If  I  must 
die,  I  would  like  to  die  easy.' 

"  So  saying,  the  giant  gave  a  groan  and  set.  off  across  the 
hills.  I  do  not  know  where  he  went,  but  I  suppose  he  travelled 
home  to  his  mamma,  and  told  her  what  a  fool  Jack  had  made 
of  him. 

"  As  soon  as  the  giant  had  gone.  Jack  and  Prince  Bluets 
went  to  the  casde  and  set  free  the  Princess  and  all  the  babies, 


MI^S.    GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ-BUZ. 


who  showed  their  gratitude  by  screaming-  for  a  week.  But 
perhaps  this  might  have  been  owing  to  the  doughnuts  they 
had  eaten. 

"  I  do  beheve  there  never  was  such  a  wedding  as  that  of 
Prince  Bluets  and  Princess  Violet,  for  all  the  fairy  folk  came, 
and  Cinderella  and  all  the  fairy  godmothers,  and  Aladdin,  and 
Prince  Nosey,  and  the  seven  champions,  and  Hop  O'my  Thumb, 
Goody  Two-Shoes,  and  Red  Riding  Hood,  All  of  them 
brought  presents  to  the  bride,  but  the  Prince  gave  her  only 
his  love,  and  took  away  from  her  the  amulet  for  fear  it  should 
make  any  one  love  her  more  than  he  could." 

During  the  next  week  it  rained  so  hard  every  day  that  no 
one  of  the  spider's  family  could  venture  out  of  their  den. 

It  was  no  wonder  that  they  became  hungry  for  stories,  and 
that  at  the  first  gleam  of  sunshine  they  all  ran  together  and 
began  to  pull  at  the  line  of  cobweb  to  which  poor  Fuz-buz  was 
fettered. 

As  for  Fuz-buz,  he  was  so  wet  and  cold  that  he  crawled 
out  of  his  hole  with  trouble  and  pain. 

"  Ah,  my  dears,"  cried  he,  "  I  ache  all  over  with  the  gout. 
We  lived  too  high  in  Spain,  I  fear." 

"  Bother  the  gout !"  said  the  spiders.  "  Tell  us  a  new 
story,  and  pretty  soon  too,  or  mammy  will  eat  you,  and  won't 
that  be  worse  than  the  o-out?" 

o 

"  I  don't  know,"  answered  Fuz-buz.  "  I  think  I  would  rather 
be  eaten  up  at  once,  and  have  it  over." 

"  Ha !  ha !"  cried  Mrs.  Grabem,  who  overheard  what  the  fly 
had  said.     "  Ha !    ha !    you  would   like  to   be  eaten.     Would 


74 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


you  like  to  have  your  legs  pulled  off,  and  your  wings  torn, 
and " 

"Oh  dear!  oh  dear!"  shrieked  Fuz-buz.  "Pray  stop;  I 
am  all  in  a  shiver.     I  will  never  be  so  hasty  again." 

"Very  well,"  returned  the  spider,  firmly.  "See  that  you 
remember  what  I  have  said,  and  on  no  account  venture  to 
keep  my  blessed  little  children  waiting.  It  spoils  their  tempers 
for  life.     I  will  have  no  more  of  it." 

When  Mrs.  Grabem  ceased,  all  the  young  spiders  cried 
aloud, — 

"You  had  better  take  care,  or  mammy  will  finish  you  !" 

"  How  are  your  legs  ?"  said  one. 
•     "Where  is  that  story?"  said  another. 

"  Here  it  is,"  answered  Fuz-buz,  tapping  his  head.  "  I  have 
it  all  here  ever  since  the  day  I  heard  it  told  by  a  famous  Dervish 
at  the  porch  of  the  great  Mosque  of  Salamanca." 

MUSTAPHA,   OR   THE   MUSICAL   GOURD. 

"  In  the  year  of  the  Hegira,  709,  and  the  twelfth  of  our 
Caliph  Haroun  the  Magnificent,  there  lived  in  the  royal  city 
of  Bagdad  a  cobbler  of  the  name  of  Ali  Ben  Slippah. 

"  His  shop  was  small,  but  being  well  situated  at  the  corner 
of  the  street  of  the  Prophet  and  the  great  street  of  Mosques, 
the  cobbler  managed  to  live  very  comfortably,  so  that  with 
the  aid  of  Smyrna  tobacco  and  a  contented  disposition,  which 
the  poet  has  well  called  the  '  Pipe  of  the  just,'  he  eked  out  a 
tranquil  life  free  from  care  and  ambition. 

"  His  house  was  neady  kept  by  his  daughter  Lelie,  or  the 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


75 


Dark-eyed,  who  was  a  little  maiden  with  lips  like  the  roses  of 
Istamboul,  and  cheeks  as  darkly  lovely  as  the  brown  lilies  of 
Ispahan. 

"  Besides  these,  the  sole  remaining-  member  of  their  house- 
hold was  a  great  black  cat  known  by  the  name  of  Yussef,  or 
the  Hump-backed,  because  she  was  always  in  an  evil  humor, 
and  was  forever  hunching  her  back  up  to  show  how  cross  she 
felt. 

"  It  so  chanced  that  this  cat,  pursued  by  boys  and  dogs,  had 
taken  refuge  with  Lelie,  who  had  saved  her  life.  Thencefor- 
ward she  had  never  left  her,  but  was  so  jealous  of  her  mis- 
tress that  it  was  enough  to  look  at  her  to  drive  the  Pussy 
crazy  with  rage. 

"Now  to  let  you  into  a  secret.  You  should  know  that 
Yussef  was  a  wicked  genius  who  for  a  terrible  crime  had  been 
condemned  to  live  an  hundred  years  in 'the  body  of  a  cat. 

"About  the  time  at  which  this  true  story  begins,  a  young 
soldier  of  the  Caliph's  guard,  whose  name  was  Mustapha,  fell 
in  love  with  Lelie,  and  as  he  was  very  handsome  and  clever, 
was  so  lucky  as  to  make  her  also  love  him  in  return. 

■  "  Unhappily  for  them  both,  Yussef  overheard  Mustapha 
speaking  of  the  day  when  they  were  to  be  married,  and  at  once 
fell  into  a  fit  of  jealousy  which  was  dreadful  to  see. 

"  In  her  wrath  she  flew  at  Mustapha  and  scratched  his  nose, 
then  knocked  down  and  broke  the  cobbler's  best  chibouque, 
and  at  length  dashed  out  of  the  house  just  as  Ali  Ben  Slippah 
threw  his  lap-stone  at  her  in  fierce  anger,  because  of  his  broken 
pipe. 

"  It  was  late  in   the  evenino^  when  Yussef  darted  out,  and 


76 


J//^S.    GRABEM  AND   FUZ  BUZ. 


with  her  heart  full  of  jealous  rage  bounded  up  the  walls  and 
over  the  house-tops,  until  at  last  she  seated  herself  on  a  gable 
and  began  to  think. 

"  As  it  became  later  she  was  suddenly  aware  of  a  noble- 
looking  person  who  was  walking  slowly  along,  followed  at  a 
short  distance  by  four  guards  with  drawn  cimeters. 

"  As  soon  as  Yussef  saw  the  cavalier  she  knew  that  he  was 
the  Caliph,  and  remembering  that  he  was  then  seeking  every- 
where for  beautiful  women  to  wait  upon  his  sick  daughter,  she 
formed  on  the  moment  the  most  spiteful  scheme  of  mischief 
that  ever  you  heard  of. 

"  With  two  or  three  crazy  leaps  she  alighted  at  the  feet  of 
the  Caliph  and  began  to  miaou  a  tune  of  the  most  singular 
character. 

'"By  the  beard  of  the  Prophet!'  said  Haroun  al  Raschid, 
'  this  is  passing  wonderful !     Catch  that  cat !' 

"But  Yussef  was  too  quick  for  them.  She  turned  two 
somersaults,  and  miaoued  again.  The  guards  and  the  Caliph 
followed  her  in  wonder,  while  she  retreated  until  they  came  to 
the  cobbler's  door.  Here  she  miaoued  once  more,  and  leaped 
into  an  open  window. 

"  When  the  Caliph  drew  near  as  she  had  desired  he  would 
do,  he  looked  into  the  window  and  saw  the  beautiful  Lelie. 

'"  Bismillah !'  cried  he,  as  he  thrust  back  the  guards. 
'  Blessed  be  cats  for  evermore  !  Here  is  the  maiden  I  have 
sought  for  rny  daughter.' 

"  So  saying,  he  turned  and  gave  brief  orders  to  his  attend- 
ants, bidding  them  be  careful  and  secret;  and  thus  saying 
moved  away  quietly  through  the  deserted  streets. 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  77 


"  Very  early  next  morning,  when  the  cobbler  had  gone  to 
market,  Yussef  heard  a  noise,  and  looking  saw  the  shop  full 
of  black  slaves,  who  seized  Lelie,  muffled  her  in  a  shawl,  and 
leaving  a  bag  of  gold  on  the  counter  hurried  away  swifdy. 

"  As  soon  as  they  left,  Yussef  hastened  after  them,  and  when 
they  entered  a  gilded  caique  on  the  Tigris,  she  also  tried  to 
leap  into  the  boat.  But  to  her  dismay  one  of  the  guards  seized 
her  by  the  tail  and  threw  her  thirty  feet  away  into  the  river. 

"  Yussef  spluttered  and  spit  as  she  came  to  the  surface,  and 
must  surely  have  been  drowned  had  she  been  a  real  cat. 

"As  it  was,  she  lost  three  out  of  her  nine  lives,  and  un- 
luckily came  to  land  on  the  premises  of  a  tanner,  where  she 
was  set  upon  by  six  dogs,  who  tore  her  hair  out  and  bit  her 
tail,  and  altogether  so  misused  her  that  she  came  to  look  more 
like  a  bit  of  ill-used  foot-rug  than  a  respectable  cat. 

"  At  last,  with  her  heart  full  of  rage  and  her  stomach  full 
of  water,  she  reached  home  to  find  the  poor  cobbler  in  the 
utmost  grief  for  the  loss  of  his  daughter. 

"  By  and  by  he  resigned  himself  to  his  fate,  and  seeing 
well  that  no  common  person  had  stolen  the  maiden,  he  smoked 
the  more  abundandy,  and  like  a  true  believer  took  comfort  in 
that  verse  of  the  Koran  which  says,  '  All  things  that  are,  are 
well ;  but  some,  saith  the  Prophet,  are  disagreeable.' 

•'  Meanwhile,  poor  Mustapha  became  nearly  crazed  with 
grief.  He  roamed  the  streets  all  day,  and  at  evening  returned 
to  the  cobbler's,  in  the  vain  hope  of  hearing  some  news  of 
Lelie. 

"On  one  of  these  occasions  he  was  so  unlucky  as  to 
stumble  over  Yussef,  who  gave  him  a  fierce  scratch,  and  fled 


78 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ-BUZ. 


from  his  wrath  to  devise  new  plans  of  mischief,  for  although 
Lelie  was  gone  she  was  now  lost  to  herself  as  well  as  to  Mus- 

tapha,  and  the  cat  never  had 


the 


ceased    to    hate  .  him    as 
cause  of  all  her  troubles. 

"  Yussef  therefore  re- 
solved to  rid  herself  of  his 
presence,  and  set  about  it  after 
her  own  wicked  fashion. 

*'  Some  two  or  three  niehts 
later  Mustapha  was  wander- 
ing sadly  in  the  gardens  of  the 
Caliph  when  he  heard  a  voice 
from  the  trees  above  him 
saying, — 

" '  Come  to-nio-ht  to  the 
tomb  of  the  Caliphs,  under 
the  cedars,  on  the  road  to 
Damascus,  and  thou  shalt  hear 
news  of  thy  love.' 

"The  voice  sounded  like 
that  of  Lelie,  and  the  soldier 
in  vain  sought  about  him  on 
every  side  for  its  source.  At 
length  the  words  were  repeated,  and  he  made  up  his  mind 
to  obey  them. 

"It  was  near  midnight  when   Mustapha  found  himself  at 
the    appointed   spot.     All   Bagdad    lay  behind    him   still   and 
Here  and   there   a   lone  arrow  of  lio-ht  darted 


slumberinof 


J/A'S.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  79 


from  some  tall  minaret,  while  the  full  moonlight  pouring  down 
on  the  Mosque  of  El  Rahab  lit  up  its  golden  dome  like  a 
mound  of  fire. 

"  Before  him  the  quiet  groves  of  fig  and  olive,  pome- 
granates and  mourning  cypresses  stretched  away  for  miles, 
bounded  in  the  far  distance  by  the  curves  of  the  Tigris,  whose 
broad  bendings  flashed  in  the  light  like  gigantic  cimeters. 

"  As  Mustapha  approached  the  Caliph's  tomb  he  came  to 
an  open  space  girt  in  by  dense  thickets.  Pushing  these  aside, 
he  stepped  cautiously  forward,  for  he  heard  a  sound  of  music 
and  voices. 

"  Presently  a  fire  flashed  up  on  the  open  ground  among 
the  ruined  tombs,  and  the  soldier  shook  with  fear  as  he  looked 
on  what  its  light  revealed. 

"Seated  about  the  slope  which  led  downwards  on  every 
side  to  a  broken  tomb  were  gigantic  figures  in  white  robes 
that  floated  about  them  like  mist,  so  that  only  at  times  could 
he  see  their  solemn  faces. 

"  From  the  tomb  came  slowly  a  long  procession  of  Ghouls 
and  Vampires  and  Afrites  of  hideous  shapes,  such  as  men  see 
in  dreams,  while  all  the  air  and  the  ground  seemed  to  be  alive 
with  a  myriad  of  little  winged  forms  which  hovered  about  like 
butterflies. 

"  At  last  there  was  silence,  when  Yussef  suddenly  appeared 
before  the  tallest  of  the  Genii,  and  miaoued  frightfully. 

"  Then  the  Genie  said,  in  a  mild  great  voice,  '  What  would 
you  of  your  brethren  ?' 

'"The  man,'  said  Yussef,  'who  has  mocked  my  fallen 
estate  and  stolen  my  love  from  me  is  here  awaiting  judgment' 


3o  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 

"  When  Mustapha  heard  these  words  he  was  ready  to  die 
with  fear,  but  his  hmbs  refused  to  bear  him  away  and  he  was 
forced  to  support  himself  by  grasping  a  tree. 

"  '  Oh  King,'  cried  Yussef,  '  let  him  be  brought  to  thee.' 

"  '  Be  it  so  !'  said  the  Genie. 

"  At  this  two  fearful-looking  Afrites  leaped  into  the  air,  and 
with  one  swoop  of  their  clawed  wings  alighted  beside  Mus- 
tapha. Then  they  seized  him  and  thrust  him  into  the  circle 
before  the  cloudy  form  of  the  King  of  the  Genii,  who  thus 
addressed  him  : 

"  '  It  is  not  given  us  to  slay,  but  that  thou  shalt  no  more 
trouble  us  we  order  thee  to  become  a  gourd,  and  as  we  may 
not  sentence  any  to  an  endless  fate  it  shall  be  that  when 
it  pleaseth  Allah  to  turn  thee  inside  out  thou  shalt  then  only 
assume  again  the  form  of  man.' 

"  '  It  is  well,'  cried  Yussef     '  Thanks,  oh  King  !' 

"  At  these  words  Mustapha  fainted.  When  he  recovered 
he  found  himself  hanging  on  a  vine  near  by,  and  presendy 
discovered  that  he  was  a  huge  green  gourd. 

"After  this  many  days  fled  away,  and  Mustapha  the  gourd 
o-rew  bigger  and  bigger,  and  at  last  began  to  ripen  and  turn 
yellow. 

"  '  Every  night  as  he  hung  on  the  vine  he  saw  the  strange 
midnieht  meetings  of  the  Genii  and  Ghouls  and  Afrites.  All 
the  wonderful  things  he  heard  and  beheld  no  one  will  ever  know, 
for  he  saw  their  wild  feasts  and  dances,  and  heard  music  such 
as  before  no  mortal  ears  had  ever  listened  to. 

"  At  leno-th  one  warm  summer  morninc:  two  farmers  came 
by  on  the  way  to  market. 


MUS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  8 1 

" '  Bismillah !'  cried  one,  as  he  saw  the  great  gourd  Mus- 
tapha.     '  What  a  monstrous  gourd  !' 

"'Let  us  take  it  with  us  and  sell  it,'  said  the  second. 

"Thus  saying,  he  took  a  knife  from  his  girdle  and  cut  the 
stem  by  which  Mustapha  hung.  This  caused  him  so  much 
pain  that  he  cried  aloud. 

"'What's  that?'  said  the  farmer.  'The  gourd  speaks! 
It  is  alive !' 

"  Upon  this  he  pricked  the  gourd  with  his  knife.  At  this 
Mustapha  exclaimed,  'Don't!' 

"'Mahomet!'  said  the  farmer.  'The  thing  is  enchanted. 
It  will  fetch  us  a  fortune.' 

"  Shortly  afterwards  they  carried  the  gourd  to  the  market. 
Here  they  made  a  goodly  fortune  by  running  pins  into  Mus- 
tapha that  he  might  cr)^  out  for  the  amusement  of  the  by- 
standers. 

"  Before  lone  all  Bagdad  flocked  to  see  and  hear  this  won- 
derful  gourd,  and  at  last  an  officer  of  the  Caliph's  household 
arrived,  paid  a  great  sum  for  the  gourd,  and,  putting  it  in  a 
basket,  carried  it  away  to  the  palace. 

"  By  and  by  Mustapha  found  himself  in  a  superb  room  of 
the  palace,  where,  surrounded  by  her  ladies,  the  Princess  lay 
upon  a  couch. 

"  Suddenly,  Mustapha  the  gourd,  as  he  lay  in  his  basket, 
heard  the  voice  of  his  beloved  Lelie,  who  was  fanning  the 
Princess. 

"  This  so  moved  poor  Mustapha  that  he  cried  aloud, '  Allah  ! 

I  hear  my  love !'  and  so  saying  rolled  from  the  basket  and  fell 

at  Lelie's  feet. 

6 


82  -l//>'''>'-    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 

"  '  Mahomet !'  cried  the  Princess.  '  The  thing  is  bewitched  ! 
Take  it  away !' 

"  But  as  for  Lehe  the  words  were  as  sweet  music  to  her, 
and,  seizing  the  gourd,  she  placed  it  tenderly  in  the  basket  and 
carried  it  to  her  room.  Here  she  implored  it  with  tears  to 
speak  again,  but  in  vain  ;  so  that  at  last  she  was  forced  to  leave 
it  and  return  to  the  Princess. 

"  Soon  after  she  had  gone  Mustapha  was  aware  of  a  rose- 
colored  cloud  in  the  room,  out  of  which  grew  into  shape  the 
form  of  a  huge  Genie,  which  thus  addressed  him  : 

" '  Know,  frail  mortal,  that  I  am  your  guardian  spirit.  I 
have  heard  with  pity  of  your  sad  fate  and  am  come  to  give  you 
a  chance  for  life  again.  Perhaps  what  I  shall  do  for  you  may 
render  your  position  better.  Unluckily,  I  cannot  give  to  you 
once  more  your  mortal  shape.' 

"  With  these  words  the  figure  inclined  towards  him  gravely, 
and  touched  his  yellow  cheek.  He  shuddered  and  lost  con- 
sciousness. 

"  What  next  was  his  amazement  to  find  himself  standing 
in  the  shop  of  Harim,  the  merchant.  Presendy  he  began  to 
look  at  himself  with  curious  care.  He  had  a  gold  head  like 
that  of  a  bird,  with  ruby  eyes.  His  neck  was  of  satin-wood, 
long  and  slim,  while  his  clothes,  which  were  stiffened  with  whale- 
bone and  wire,  resembled  petticoats  upside  down. 

"  '  Allah  il  Allah  !'  cried  he.     *  What  an  existence  !' 

"Just  then  a  Dervish  looking  at  him  asked  the  merchant, 
'  What  is  that  ?' 

"  '  It  is,'  answered  he,  '  a  Prankish  device  which  the  men  in 
Frangistan  carry  to  keep  off  the  rain.     Their  women  are  only 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  83 

allowed  to  carry  smaller  ones,  so  they  make  up  for  that  by 
bearing  them  about  in  fair  as  well  as  wet  weather.' 

" '  A  device  of  Eblis  !'  exclaimed  the  Dervish,  and,  mutter- 
ing a  verse  of  the  Koran,  he  walked  gravely  away. 

"  By  and  by  came  the  grand  Purveyor  of  the  Caliph.  He 
was  seeking  new  and  curious  things  for  the  Princess,  who  was 
ill  and  refused  to  eat,  so  that  day  after  day  she  became  more 
feeble. 

"  '  Ah !'  said  the  Purveyor,  '  this  is  a  Frank  tent.  I  saw 
them  when  I  was  Envoy  to  the  court  of  Charlemagne.' 

"At  this  Mustapha  blushed,  for  the  officer  seized  him  and 
began  to  expand  his  skirts  so  that  his  leg,  for  he  had  but  one, 
was  alarmingly  exposed. 

"Very  soon  the  Purveyor,  having  paid  a  good  price,  took 
Mustapha  away  to  the  palace,  where  he  explained  the  uses  of 
this  portable  tent. 

" '  This,'  said  he,  '  is  what  the  Franks,  whom  Allah  con- 
found! call  an  umbrella,  and  the  female  of  the  thing  they  term 
a  parasol.' 

"  '  I  shall  need  it  not,'  said  the  Princess  Ellera.  '  No  sun 
will  shine  on  me  any  more.  On  me  no  rain  will  fall.  I  shall 
die  if  I  find  nothinor  that  I  can  eat. 

"  '  Take  it,  Lelie,'  she  cried.  '  As  thou  hast  lost  thy  gourd, 
take  it.' 

"  Upon  this  Lelie  took  Mustapha  away  and  placed  him  in  a 
quiet  corner  of  her  room. 

"  Meanwhile,  some  days  went  by,  and  all  the  cooks  tried  in 
vain  to  please  the  sick  Princess.  All  day  long  an  army  of 
slaves  went  past  her  bed,  each  bearing  some  rare  dish  or  some 


84  MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ-BUZ. 


luscious  fruit,  but  still,  alas  !  in  vain  ;  so  that  at  length  the 
doctors  decided  that  if  she  did  not  eat  within  a  day  she  would 
surely  die. 

"Lelie,  who  was  in  great  distress,  left  the  Princess  and 
went  to  her  own  room  to  weep  alone.  At  last  she  arose  to  go 
out  into  the  garden,  thinking  that  perhaps  the  Princess  might 
be  tempted  by  a  rose-leaf  salad. 

"  As  she  walked  past  Mustapha,  he  cried  aloud,  '  Take  me.' 

" '  This  is  queer,'  said  she ;  but  when  the  words  were  re- 
peated she  clutched  the  Prankish  toy  and  ran  out  into  the 
garden.  Here  she  wandered  long,  but  as  evening  fell  she 
suddenly  saw  that  a  storm  had  gathered, 

"Before  she  could  reach  the  palace,  a  wild  gust  of  wind 
caught  in  Mustapha's  skirts  and  nearly  tore  him  from  her  hand. 
As  she  struggled,  the  wind  expanded  his  petticoats,  and  at  last 
crack  went  the  wires,  and  then  what  do  you  think  ? 

"  Mustapha  was  turned  inside  out,  and  the  umbrella  was  a 
man  once  more. 

"  In  a  moment  he  explained  everything ;  but  after  he  had 
kissed  her  twice  she  began  to  sob,  for  now  she  knew  that  he 
had  escaped  one  evil  fate  only  to  light  upon  another  as  fearful. 

"'Ah!'  she  cried,  'a  man!  You,  a  soldier,  in  the  gardens 
of  the  palace !     You  will  be  put  to  death  at  once.' 

"  '  No  !'  he  answered,  after  thinking  a  little.  '  Not  if  I  can 
save  the  Princess.  Let  us  go  to  the  Caliph  and  confess  all. 
Meanwhile,  have  no  fears.' 

"  Lelie  at  last  gave  her  consent,  and  with  trembling  steps 
she  left  him,  and  seeking  the  Princess  related  their  strange 
story. 


MRS.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


85 


"  In  a  moment  all  was  confusion.     A  man  in  the  harem  ! 

" '  Bowstrings  and  sacks  !'  cried  the  captain  of  the  guard, 
as  he  hurried  Mustapha  before  the  Caliph. 

" '  Wretch  !'  said  Al  Raschid,  the  Caliph,  *  who  art  thou  ?' 

"  '  A  soldier,'  said  Mustapha. 

"  '  Let  him  die  !'  cried  Al  Raschid. 

" '  Oh,  Caliph,'  answered  Mustapha,  '  in  the  land  of  the 
Genii  it  was  given  me  once  to  learn  secrets  of  the  vile  Franks, 
wherewith  it  may  be  that  I  can  save  thy  daughter  the  Princess.' 

" '  Thou  dost  lie  like  unto  a  rusty  weathercock,'  said  the 
Caliph ;  '  but  that  none  may  say  I  am  unjust,  take  this  man  to 
the  kitchen.  Let  him  do  his  best,  and  if  he  fail  have  him 
strangled  instantly.' 

"  *  It  is  well  said,'  replied  Mustapha. 

"  Very  soon  he  was  left  alone  in  the  great  kitchen  of  the 
palace,  while  all  the  strange  things  he  had  seen  at  the  feasts 
of  the  Genii  came  back  to  his  mind. 

"  Presently  he  sought  about  him  among  the  stores  of  pro- 
visions, and  took  from  a  basket  those  striped  apples  which 
grow  by  the  brooks  of  Alkeldrina. 

"These  he  pared  deftly  and  set  each  within  a  cup  of 
wheaten  dough,  such  as  only  the  Caliph's  farms  can  furnish. 
Therein  he  placed  also  the  golden  orange-peel  and  the  spices 
of  distant  Borneo.  Lastly,  he  sprinkled  it  within  and  without 
with  the  aromatic  sugar  of  Turkan,  and  hanging  each  apple 
thus  prepared  in  a  silken  net  carefully  cooked  them. 

"  When  they  were  ready  he  placed  them  upon  golden 
dishes,  and  threw  over  each  a  hail  of  snowy  suoar  and  fragrant 
cinnamon,  covering  all  with  a  handful  of  almond  blossoms. 


86  MRS.   GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ. 


"  Then  he  called  the  guard,  and  with  cimeters  crossed  over 
his  head  he  was  allowed  to  carry  his  dish  to  the  Princess.  As 
she  looked  languidly  upon  it  he  shook  off  the  blossoms. 

"Then  said  the  Princess,  'These  be  the  roses  of  Para- 
dise which  I  do  smell' 

"  At  these  words  he  knelt  down  and  offered  the  dish  to  the 
lady.  Wonderful  to  tell,  the  Princess  called  for  a  silver  fork 
and  ate  up  the  whole  of  the  apples  so  greedily  that  she  scalded 
her  throat  in  the  most  dreadful  way. 

"  But  between  every  mouthful  she  blessed  poor  Mustapha 
as  the  king  of  cooks,  and  from  that  instant  she  recovered  so 
quickly  as  to  disgust  all  the  doctors,  who  went  away  saying 
that  Mustapha  was  a  quack. 

"Of  course  he  married  Lelie,  and  had  a  patent  for  making 
this  wonderful  dish,  and  was  created  Lord  Marquis  of  Apple- 
butter  and  Duke  of  Dumplings,  and  lived  merrily  all  his  days." 

"That's  a  good  story,"  cried  the  spiders. 

"  Glad  you  like  it,"  said  Fuz-buz.  "  Now,  if  you  please,  I 
will  sleep,  as  I  am  tired." 

In  this  pleasant  way  the  days  went  by  until  Fuz-buz  had 
told  them  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  stories. 

On  this  last  evening  he  overheard  the  spiders  talking  as  he 
lay  tied  by  the  leg  in  a  deep  dark  crack  of  the  apple-tree  where 
he  slept. 

"  My  children,"  said  the  old  spider,  "  after  Fuz-buz  has  told 
us  one  more  story  we  will  eat  him.  It  will  be  best  to  wait  until 
after  dark,  and  then  seize  him  on  a  sudden  and  kill  him,  for  he 
is  a  very  strong  fly,  and  may  give  me  trouble." 


MA'S.    GRAB  EM  AND   FUZ-BUZ.  87 

They  all  agreed  to  this,  excepting  the  youngest,  who  said  it 
would  be  a  shame  to  serve  him  so,  and  that  they  ought  to  let 
him  go. 

But  Mrs.  Grabem  replied,  "  You  know  nothing  of  house- 
keeping, my  dear.     Go  to  sleep  and  hold  your  tongue." 

When  Fuz-buz  overheard  this,  he  was  scared  to  death. 
All  next  day  he  was  so  sick  that  he  could  not  tell  even  the 
shortest  story. 

At  nightfall,  when  the  family  had  gone  to  their  den,  he  sat 
on  the  tree  near  his  cosey  little  crack  and  tried  to  gnaw  the 
web  which  held  him. 

Unluckily,  it  was  too  tough.  When  he  was  in  despair,  who 
should  hum  by  but  a  huge  Bee. 

"  Halloa  !"  said  he.     "What's  wrong  with  you  ?" 

"  Sir,"  replied  Fuz-buz,  "  I  am  tied  by  the  leg  to  this  web, 
and  am  to  be  eaten  to-night  by  a  cruel  monster  of  a  spider 
who  lives  near,  and  who  will  overhear  you  if  you  do  not  speak 
in  a  low  voice." 

"  Who's  afraid  ?"  said  the  Bee.     "  Which  leg  is  it  ?" 

"  This,"  answered  Fuz-buz. 

"  Pshaw !"  cried  the  Bee,  and  with  that  he  twisted  the  web 
about  his  legs  and  gave  a  jump.  Snap  went  the  line,  and  Fuz- 
buz  was  free  once  more.     Never  a  fly  was  so  glad  as  he. 

"  Sir,"  he  said,  "  I  am  only  sorry  that  you  have  not  had  the 
honor  to  slay  this  vile  spider.  Now,  if  you  were  to  slip  into 
this  crack  where  I  sleep,  you  would  have  a  fine  chance,  because 
when  Mrs.  Grabem  comes  to  eat  me  you  could  give  her  a 
pleasing  surprise." 

"That's  a  rather  jolly  notion,"  answered  the  Bee.     So  he 


MRS.   GRAB  EM  AND  FUZ-BUZ. 


went  down  on  the  ground,  and,  after  sharpening  his  sting  on  a 
smooth  pebble,  thrust  himself  deep  into  the  crack  where  Fuz- 
buz  was  wont  to  sleep. 

But,  as  for  Fuz-buz,  the  fly,  he  sat  on  a  limb  above  and 
looked  on.  After  a  little,  when  it  was  dark,  or  nearly  so,  out 
came  Mrs.  Grabem  slowly,  and,  crawling  over  her  web,  went 
down  into  the  crack  to  murder  poor  innocent  Fuz-buz. 
Presently  she  cried  aloud, — 

"Oh,  I'm  dead!"  which  was  true  in  a  moment,  for  Sir  Bee 
had  thrust  his  long  sword  straight  through  her,  and  she  had 
tumbled  off  the  tree  as  dead  as  could  be. 

At  the  sound  of  her  voice  all  the  young  spiders  ran  out, 
and  saw  Sir  Bee  with  his  quick  sword.  In  a  twinkHng  he 
stabbed  them  one  after  another,  until  he  came  to  the  youngest. 
Then  Fuz-buz  said, — 

"  Halloa !  My  friend,  let  this  one  go,  for  he  was  the  only 
one  who  did  not  desire  to  kill  me." 

"  Sir,"  cried  the  youngest  spider,  "  I  do  not  wish  to  live, 
after  you  have  killed  my  mother  and  all  my  brothers  and  sisters. 
Take  that,  sir!" 

So  saying,  he  dealt  the  Bee  such  a  crack  that  he  was  forced 
to  stab  him  like  the  rest,  and  there,  at  last,  was  the  end  of  all  of 
them. 

As  for  Fuz-buz,  he  said,  "Well,  it's  one  spider  less,  and  so 
many  flies  more.     Spiders  are  of  no  use,  and  flies  are." 

Meanwhile,  Sir  Bee  wiped  his  sword  and  took  up  his  bag 
of  honey,  feeling  that  he  had  done  a  clever  day's  work,  while 
Fuz-buz  flew  away  to  Spain,  and  never  could  be  brought  to  tell 
anybody  a  story,  long  or  short,  up  to  the  end  of  his  happy  life. 


WOGO. 

— -^i-i^ — 

IN  days  when  all  men  were  young  and  all  women  younger, 
a  ofreat  Maeic  man  lived  on  the  shores  of  the  sea. 
Where  he  lived  it  was  the  In-between-land,  and  was  not 
warm  so  as  to  make  fruit  and  flowers,  nor  yet  cold  so  as  to 
freeze.  This  Magic  man  was  a  Manitou,  and  was  called  VVogo. 
He  grew  tired  of  In-between-land,  and  said  he  would  go  where 
there  was  more  of  something  than  in  In-between-land.  He 
went  away  north.  The  northland  Manitous  heard  him  coming, 
and  made  fires  in  the  sky  at  night  to  scare  Wogo.  But  he 
only  laughed  so  loud  that  the  sound  broke  branches  from 
the  trees.  Then  soon  he  felt  cold,  and  the  winter  gods  threw 
their  white  cloaks  on  the  ground  and  said,  "  Lie  down  and 
sleep.     These  are  soft." 

But  Wogo  cried  out,  "  Begone !"  and  tore  from  the  hills 
their  tall  scalp-locks  of  a  hundred  pines  and  dashed  the  snow 
about  and  tumbled  the  winter  gods  over  the  cliffs.  At  last 
Wogo  came  to  a  cave  and  went  in.  A  cold  chill  struck 
through  him,  and  he  saw  a  white  giant. 

"  Ugh !"    said   the    giant ;    "  you   are    Manitou   of  the    In- 


'  The  legend  on  which  this  tale  is  founded  is  to  be  met  with  in  tlie 
interesting  Algonquin  legends  of  Mr.  Charles  G.  Leland. 

89 


go  JVOGO. 

bet  we  en-land.     Come  and  sit  by  the  fire,  and  let  us  tell  tales 
of  the  Ice  Gods  of  dead  days." 

Wogo  looked  about,  but  saw  no  fire, — only  a  great  pile  of 
huo-e  icicles  like  logs ;  and  from  these  mist  arose  with  dense 
clouds  of  snow,  which  darted  high  in  air,  in  great  gusts  with  a 
sound  like  the  roar  and  fury  of  flames. 

"  I  am  too  warm,  my  brother,"  said  Wogo.  "  Your  fire  is 
great." 

"  Ugh !"  said  the  giant ;  "  I  am  he  of  whom  the  loons  sing 
for  fear  when  they  fly  away  to  the  south." 

"  Indeed  !"  cried  Wogo.     "  Are  you  the  Ice  God  ?" 

He  was  so  cold  that  his  teeth  chattered,  but  he  would  not 
show  it,  and  amused  himself  casting  ice  logs  on  the  cold  fire 
till  the  mists  rose  from  it  like  a  great  cloud  and  covered  the 
earth  and  great  hail-stones  darted  from  it  like  sparks. 

"Ah  ha!"  cried  the  Ice  God.  "Let  us  go  forth  and 
smoke." 

So  they  went  out  and  sat  on  the  hill  with  their  feet  in  the 
valley,  but  their  heads  were  in  the  clouds,  and  each  plucked  a 
red  brand  out  of  the  northern  lights  to  kindle  his  pipe. 

Then  Woeo  told  the  tale  of  how  out  of  one  creature — 
Cheplunk  the  turde — Glooscap  the  maker  formed  all  ani- 
mals that  walk  or  fly  or  swim.  But  when  he  had  talked  a 
month,  and  Ice  God  had  listened,  at  last  he  was  silent. 

Ice  God  said  now  it  was  his  turn.  So  he  sat  upon  the  hill 
and  told  how  Glooscap  stole  tobacco  from  Manitou's  land  and 
gave  it  to  men  ;  and  this  story  was  long,  and  took  two  years,  for 
Ice  God  hoped  that  Wogo  would  go  to  sleep  and  die  of  cold. 
But  all  the  beasts  loved  Wogo ;  and  when  he  nodded  the  bear 


wo  GO. 


91 


stole  up  and  pinched  him  with  his  claw,  and  Kanecri  the  loon 
struck  his  eyes  with  his  wing,  so  that  two  years  he  sat  upon 
the  hill  and  heard  the  Ice  God.  At  last  the  giant  had  no  more 
breath,  and  Wogo  arose  and  stretched  his  legs,  which  creaked 
and  cracked  as  when  at  night  the  ice  snaps  with  a  loud  sound 
on  the  lake. 

"  It  is  too  warm  here,"  he  said.  "  I  will  go  away,  lest  I 
scorch ;  but  come  soon  and  visit  me,  and  perhaps  I  can  have 
it  a  little  cooler  than  it  is  here." 

This  made  Ice  God  angry.  "  Stay,"  he  said,  "  and  I  will 
tell  you  another  tale.  I  was  afraid  I  might  have  made  you 
sleepy." 

But  Wogo  had  no  mind  to  hear,  and  went  away  home, 
crying  to  Ice  God  to  come  soon. 

Not  long  after,  Ice  God  bade  the  snow  wolf  and  the  fog 
bear  to  go  before  him  and  breathe  over  his  path  so  that  when 
he  came  to  the  tall  wigwam  of  Wogo  it  was  winter  before 
and  around  him.  Then  Ice  God  mocked  Wogo.  "  Where 
is  the  blue  sky?"  he  cried;  "and  I  did  hear  that  you  had  a 
yellow  sun,  and  that  after  the  warm  rain  came  a  painted  bow  of 
colors  in  the  sky,  and  that  you  hunted  with  this  the  whales  and 
hung  them  at  your  belt  like  trout." 

"  Soon  it  will  come  again,  my  brother,"  said  Wogo.  "  Then 
we  shall  hunt.     Now  let  us  tell  tales  and  smoke." 

They  lay  down  in  the  valley  with  their  legs  over  the  tops 
of  the  hills,  and  smoked  so  that  the  skies  were  darkened. 

"  This,"  said  Wogo,  "  is  the  story  of  the  Loon,  the  Wood- 
pecker, and  the  Brown  Bear." 

Ever  since  Woq^o  came  home  he  sat  on  the  hills  and  oot 


Q2  wo  GO. 

ready  this  story.  The  part  about  the  loon  took  two  years. 
Five  hundred  and  thirty  suns  were  needed  for  the  wood- 
pecker, and  eleven  years  for  the  brown  bear.  Ice  King  was 
too  polite  to  stop  Wogo.  Nine  years  he  smoked  and  listened  ; 
at  the  tenth  his  pipe  fell  out  of  his  mouth  and  he  slept.  Then 
Wogo  called  the  loon  Kanecri  and  bade  him  fetch  the  south 
wind;  and  soon  came  Yagara,  the  breath  of  the  south,  and 
stood  by  Ice  God,  and,  breathing,  cast  magic  on  him,  so  that 
Snow  Wolf  and  Fog  Bear  fled  from  between  his  knees,  and 
Ice  King  sweated  sorely,  and  at  last  melted  to  a  river  and  ran 
howling  to  the  sea. 

But  Wogo  only  laughed,  and  overhead  Kanecri  the  loon 
cried  out,  "  Beware  !  he  will  come  again." 

"If  that  be  so,"  said  Wogo,  "I  will  make  another  story." 
So  he  lit  his  pipe  and  made  a  new  tale,  which  had  no  end  and 
no  beginning. 


PRINCE    LAZY   BOOTS    AND    THE 
PECK   OF  TROUBLES. 


-■^i-i^ 


THERE  was  once  a  Prince  who  lived  in  the  farthest-off 
country  in   the   world.      He  was  very  lazy  and  very 
pleasant.     He  liked  to  sit  in  the  sun  all  day  and  chuck 
the  modest  liHes  under  their  chins,  and  read  the  beautiful  story 


of  the  Loitering  Rose.     He  was  too  lazy  to  love  anybody  very 

much.     One  day  the  daughter  of  the  chief  of  all  the  wise  men 

came  by  and  said, — 

"  Why  do  not  you  love  me  ?     I  am  beautiful." 

"It  is  too  troublesome,"  said  the  Prince.     "I  don't  mind 

being  loved,  and  if  I  could  find  some  one  to  court  you  for  me 

93 


94  PRINCE   LAZY  BOOTS 

I  might  love  you."  And  at  this  he  yawned,  and  said,  "  It  is  so 
fatiguing  to  yawn." 

"  Indeed !"  cried  the  lady,  and  went  away  weeping. 

Then  the  fairy  godmother  at  last  advised  that  the  Prince 
should  travel.  "For,"  said  she,  "dear  Prince,  then  perhaps 
you  may  get  rid  of  this  terrible  laziness." 

The  Prince,  whose  name  was  Lazy  Boots,  said  he  was  not 
sorry  to  go,  because  he  was  tired  of  everything  and  every- 
body. So  next  day  he  rode  away  on  the  slowest  horse  in  the 
King's  stable. 

At  last,  after  he  had  seen  many  lands  and  found  no  place 
idle  enough  to  suit  him,  he  wandered  off  one  day  from  his 
friends  and  came  to  a  wood.  Here  he  saw  a  donkey,  who 
walked  along  in  such  a  leisurely  way  as  to  charm  the  Prince. 
So  he  bought  him  of  the  man  who  was  leading  him,  and  at 
once  got  on  his  back,  thinking  how  nice  it  was  to  be  a  lazy 
Prince,  and  to  ride  on  the  slowest  donkey  in  all  the  world. 

He  soon  found,  however,  that  his  legs  reached  the  ground, 
and  that,  except  for  the  honor  of  riding  on  a  donkey,  he  might 
as  well  have  walked ;  besides,  if  he  lifted  his  feet,  that  donkey 
at  once  lay  down.  By  and  by  this  became  unpleasant,  and 
he  got  a  stick  and  beat  the  donkey.  But  what  was  his  surprise 
when  the  donkey  began  to  talk. 

"  Sir,"  he  said,  "  when  you  beat  a  donkey,  you  should  choose 
a  donkey  of  your  own  size.     You  are  very  heavy." 

At  this  the  Prince  laughed,  and  said,  "What  a  treasure  I 
have  in  you  !  You  are  certainly  small,  and  you  are  delightfully 
lazy.  I  thought  no  creature  was  as  lazy  as  I,  but  now  I  know 
better." 


AiYD    THE  FECK   OF  TROUBLES.  95 

"Sir,"  said  the  donkey,  "if  you  were  underneath  and  I  on 
top,  you  would  be  still  more  lazy." 

"  Indeed !"  cried  the  Prince,  turning  away  to  look  for  a 
larofer  stick. 

But  in  a  moment  he  cried  out,  "  Oh !"  for  the  donkey 
had  suddenly  jumped  so  cleverly  on  to  his  back  that  the 
Prince  fell  on  his  hands  and  knees ;  and  there  was  the  don- 
key on  top,  very  queer  to  see,  and  the  Prince  Lazy  Boots 
underneath. 

"  Perhaps  you  call  this  a  joke,"  said  the  Prince.  "  Halloa ! 
what's  that?" 

"That's  my  tail,"  said  the  donkey.  "It's  as  thick  as  a 
rope,  and  never  was  any  use  before.  Now  it  serves  to  whack 
a  lazy  prince." 

"  Oh  !  oh  !"  cried  the  Prince. 

"  Get  up,"  said  the  donkey. 

"  How  can  I,"  groaned  the  Prince,  "  with  you  on  top  ?" 

"  Well,  that  was  what  they  always  said  to  me.  I  do  agree 
with  you  that  it  is  a  stupid  way  to  say  '  Go  on.'  " 

Whack  went  that  tail,  and  the  Prince  crawled  away  on  the 
road,  which  was  bad  for  his  beautiful  velvet  pantaloons.  At 
last  he  could  go  no  farther,  and  fell  down,  at  which  the  donkey 
said, — 

"  Stupid,  why  did  you  not  do  that  at  first?  Really,  you  are 
too  lazy  to  think,"  and  so  saying  brayed  good-by  and  trotted 
away. 

In  a  few  moments  the  Prince  began  to  look  about  for  a 
way  to  leave  the  wood  ;  but  he  soon  saw  that  it  was  enchanted, 
because,  if  he  moved  this  way  or  that,  all  of  a  sudden  there 


96  PRINCE  LAZY  BOOTS 

was  a  tree  in  his  road.  After  turning  here  and  there,  he  saw 
an  owl  asleep  on  a  large  toadstool. 

"Sir,"  said  the  Prince,  "will  you  kindly  advise  a  lost 
traveller?" 

"  Oh,  what  a  joke  !"  said  the  owl,  and  fell  asleep  again. 

This  made  the  Prince  angry.  "I'll  teach  you  manners," 
he  said,  and  at  once  pulled  all  the  feathers  out  of  that  owl's 

tail. 

The  owl  said,  "Don't!"  and  fell  on  his  horny  nose,  sound 
asleep,  because  now  he  had  lost  his  balance. 

By  and  by  Lazy  Boots  came  to  a  road.  It  was  not  a 
pleasant  road,  because  it  seemed  to  squirm  about,  so  that  at 
last  the  Prince  remembered  something  and  said,  "  In  the 
country  of  the  Wine  of  Shiraz  the  roads  are  alive." 

But  it  was  no  use  to  quote  Hafiz,  the  poet,  and  so  he  grew 
more  and  more  tired.  At  last  he  saw  before  him  a  dwar', 
whose  nose  was  red  and  who  stood  with  one  hand  pointed  to 
the  right. 

"Who  are  you  ?"  said  the  Prince. 

"  I  am  a  sign-post." 

"  I  see,"  said  the  Prince,  who  was  so  lazy  that  he  could 
never  be  surprised. 

A  litde  farther  on  he  came  to  a  long  man  on  his  hands  and 
knees  across  the  road. 

"Who  are  you?"  said  the  Prince. 

"  I  am  a  toll-gate.  You  look  so  solemn,  sir,  you  must  be  a 
funeral.     Funerals  don't  pay.     Go  on." 

So  he  crawled  aside,  and  the  Prince  went  on.  He  was  too 
lazy  to  smile. 


AND    THE  PECK   OF  TROUBLES.  97 


By  and  by  the  Prince  came  to  a  place  where  on  each  side 
stood  rows  of  giants  smoking  pipes.  He  said  to  one,  "Who 
are  you  ?"  for  he  was  too  lazy  to  be  afraid. 

The  giant  answered,  "  Speak  louder ;  I  can't  hear.  I  am 
too  high  up." 

The  Prince  thought  how  troublesome  it  was  to  have  to  roar 
at  a  high-up  giant,  and  went  on.  Then  he  saw  that  there  were 
ladders  put  against  these  giants'  legs,  and  litde  red  men  and 
women  going  up  and  down. 

"  Sir,"  he  said  to  one  of  them,  "  who  are  these  big  fellows  ?" 

But  the  red  man  cried  out,  "Don't  speak  so  loud  ;  you  deafen 
me." 

"  Bother  such  a  country !"  said  the  Prince. 

At  last  he  came  to  a  middle-sized  man  with  a  stick,  and  all 
around  him  twelve  dwarfs.  As  the  Prince  came  near,  the  man 
hit  one  of  the  dwarfs,  who  cried  out,  "  Twelve  o'clock," 

"  And  what  on  earth  are  you  ?"  said  the  Prince. 

"  I  am  a  clock.     I  am  striking  the  hours." 

"  And  who  are  these  big  men  ?" 

"  Houses,  sir." 

"But  do  houses  smoke  pipes?" 

"  What  a  fool !"  said  the  man.  "  Don't  know  chimneys 
when  you  see  them." 

"Ha!  ha!"  said  the  Prince,  "what  bad  manners,"  and 
walked  on  till  he  came  to  a  square  full  of  giants  and  little 
people.  In  the  middle,  on  a  giant's  shoulders,  was  a  blue 
dwarf,  who  kept  saying,  "  Buy,  buy  ;  what  will  you  buy  ?"  Also 
here  and  there  were  men  and  women,  who  all  looked  surprised. 
Then  the  Prince  saw  that  these  people  were  the  only  ones  who 

7 


c,8  PRINCE   LAZY  BOOTS 


bought.  The  reason  why  they  bought  was  because  if  they  did 
not  the  giants  trod  on  their  toes.  All  sorts  of  queer  things 
that  blue  dwarf  sold. 

"  Here's  a  year  for  sale.  Here's  a  year  for  sale."  This  an 
old  man  bought,  and  went  away  with  it  under  his  arm  ;  but  the 
Prince  seeing  that  no  one  paid  anythmg,  asked  an  amiable 
dwarf  who  stood  near  why  this  was. 

"  Fair  Sir,"  he  replied,  "  they  pay  later  on." 

"Just  so,"  said  the  Prince,  and  listened,  for  the  blue  dwarf 
cried  aloud,  "Love,  love;  who  will  buy  a  full  measure  of 
love  ?" 

At  this  a  girl  was  pushed  forward,  and  the  giants  smiled 
large  smiles.  The  dwarf  gave  her  a  basket,  which  seemed 
heavy,  and  she  went  away  contented. 

"That's  a  very  cosdy  lot,"  said  the  amiable  dwarf. 

"Ah,  ha!"  said  a  giant  away  up  in  the  air.  "Ah,  ha! 
What's  next?" 

"  A  peck  of  troubles.     Who'll  buy  ?     A  peck— a  peck  of 

troubles." 

No  one  seemed  to  want  this ;  but  soon  a  giant  trod  on  the 

Prince's  toes. 

"  Good  gracious  !"  cried  he  ;  "get  off." 

Then  the  giant  begged  his  pardon  very  large,  just  as  if  he 
had  not  meant  to  walk  on  him,  and  remarked  that  he'd  better 
buy.  Upon  which  all  the  other  giants  said  together,  "  Yes,  he 
had  better  buy."  And  this  made  a  loud  noise,  and  the  auction 
dwarf  cried  out,  "A  peck  of  troubles.  Going,  going,  very 
cheap  ;  partly  damaged  by  fire  ;  a  peck  of  troubles." 

Then  a  bright  thought  struck  the  Prince.     Perhaps  if  I  were 


AND    THE  PECK   OF   TROUBLES.  99 

to  own  a  peck  of  troubles  I  might  lose  my  laziness  and  become 
sometime  a  famous  King.  A  peck  of  troubles  would  really 
rouse  a  fellow.  But  just  as  he  made  up  his  mind  a  young 
man  cried  out,  "  I  will  take  a  peck  of  troubles." 

When  the  Prince  heard  this,  he  began  to  want  that  peck  of 
troubles  very  much. 

"  Ha  !  ha  !"  said  the  blue  dwarf.     "  Bid  !     Bid  !" 

"  I  will  bid  a  bushel  of  laziness,"  cried  the  Prince. 

"  Done,"  said  the  dwarf,  and  gave  the  Prince  a  bag. 
"There,  there,"  he  said,  "is  your  peck  of  troubles.  Pay  some 
day ;  credits  are  long  in  Fairy-land."  Then  all  the  giants 
laughed,  and  so  did  the  clock  and  the  houses.  As  for  the  Prince, 
he  tied  the  peck  of  troubles,  which  was  in  a  bag,  over  his 
shoulders  and  walked  away.  By  and  by  he  sat  down  because 
the  bag  grew  heavy. 

"What  a  fool  I  was,"  he  cried,  "to  buy  troubles!  Why, 
my  laziness  is  trouble  enough.  How  can  I  get  rid  of  one 
trouble  with  the  help  of  more  ?" 

Then,  remembering  that  his  fairy  godmother  lived  In  that 
countr}^  he  went  back  to  the  town,  and  soon  saw  a  pink  dwarf 
with  his  left  hand  stretched  out.  Of  course  now  he  knew  that 
the  dwarf  was  a  sign-post. 

"Which  way  to  Fairy  Godmother  Street?"  asked  Lazy 
Boots. 

"  Straight  down  Squirm  Street,  up  Wriggle  Lane,  two  turns 
to  the  left,  and  there  you  are,"  cried  the  pink  dwarf. 

"  How  nice  to  have  sign-posts  that  talk,"  said  the  Prince, 
and  went  on  until  he  reached  that  part  of  the  town  where  the 
fairy    godmothers    lived.      When    he    came    to    the    caves    in 


lOO  PRINCE  LAZY  BOOTS 

which  they  made  their  homes,  he  saw  a  silver  horn  at  the 
entrance.  When  you  blew  on  this,  your  own  fairy  godmother 
was  sure  to  come  out. 

The  Prince  blew  on  the  horn  quite  strongly,  so  that  the 
echoes  flew  back  and  forward  between  the  hills  like  birds.  In 
a  moment  an  old  lady  came  out  of  the  cave.  She  had  queer- 
colored  cheeks,  all  tints,  like  a  changeful  soap-bubble,  and 
white  hair, — white  as  clouds  or  sea-foam, — which  fell  about 
her  shoulders. 

"  My  dear  Prince,"  she  said,  "  how  lustily  you  blew. 
Surely  you  are  getting  less  lazy." 

The  Prince  said  this  was  encouraging,  and  began  to  feel 
active. 

"Ah,  godmamma,"  he  said,  "at  last  I  have  done  a  wise 
thing.  All  my  life  I  have  lived  in  the  cradle  of  luxury.  I 
became  lazy.  I  liked  it.  I  have  seen  a  donkey  so  lazy  that 
I — well,  really,  it  was  no  use  to  pretend  to  be  as  lazy  as  that 
donkey.  I  give  it  up.  And  to  cut  the  thing  short,  granny,  I 
got  into  Fairy-land,  and  bought  a  peck  of  troubles  from  a  blue 
dwarf," 

"Indeed,"  said  the  old  dame.     "Why  did  you  do  that?" 

"  Well,"  he  answered,  "  suppose  you  have  a  peck  of 
troubles.  Don't  you  have  to  stir  about  to  get  rid  of  them? 
and  isn't  that  just  what  I  require?" 

"  I  see,"  she  returned.     "  That  was  very  clever  of  )'0u." 

"  And  now,  godmamma,  what  advice  would  you  give  me  as 
to  this  peck  of  troubles?  Eight  quarts  one  peck.  Sixteen 
pints — sixteen  pints  of  troubles.  The  fact  is,  I  begin  to  think 
that   a  quart  or   two   might   answer   my   purpose,   and   I   am 


AND    THE  PECK   OF  TROUBLES.  loi 


very  much  afraid  to  open  the  bag.  Suppose  they  all  come 
out  at  once.  How  many  troubles  go  to  make  a  quart, 
granny  ?" 

"  Eleven  and  a  quarter  in  Fairy-land,"  she  replied,  "  when 
you  are  old,  but  only  two  and  a  half  when  you  are  young." 

"I  had  better  not  wait,"  said  the  Prince.  "The  older  I 
grow,  the  worse  they  will  be."  Then  he  laid  the  bag  on  the 
o-round.  and  beean  to  think  about  it;  but  while  he  rolled  it  all 
over  in  his  mind  his  godmother  went  to  the  cave  and  blew 
the  horn.  Out  came  a  fat  godmother  with  two  young  god- 
mothers hanging  out  of  her  apron-pockets. 

"Oh  dear!"  they  said;  "what  a  sweet  Prince!  Why  is 
he  sad  ?" 

"  He  has  bought  a  peck  of  troubles  because  he  is  so  lazy 
that,  perhaps,  before  he  is  able  to  get  rid  of  all  these  troubles 
he  will  have  to  bestir  himself.  He  is  so  lazy  that  he  has  a 
man  to  ask  another  man  to  yawn  for  him." 

Then  they  all  gave  him  advice. 

"  It  would  be  cowardly  not  to  open  the  bag." 

"It  would  be  foolish  to  let  them  out." 

"Take  it  back.     Sell  it." 

"  Was  it  very  dear  ?" 

At  this  the  Prince  got  angry,  and  cried  out  that  Fairy-land 
was  a  poor  place  to  get  advice,  and  said  that  he  would  go  home 
and  consult  the  wise  men  as  to  what  he  should  do.  So  he  went 
away.  By  and  by  his  load  became  heavy ;  but  he  kept  on, 
and  soon  was  in  a  great  sweat  and  very  tired.  "Dear- me!" 
he  said ;  "  if  this  is  the  beginning,  what  shall  I  do  when  t  open 
the  bae?" 


I02  PRINCE   LAZY  BOOTS 

At  last  he  met  a  Goblin.  "  Sir,"  he  said,  "  carry  my  bag  a 
day  and  I  will  give  you  four  pieces  of  gold." 

But  the  Goblin  said,  "  I  know  that  bag ;  it  has  been  on  its 
travels  before.     Every  man  must  carry  his  own  troubles." 

At  this  the  Prince  started  afresh,  but  by  nightfall  resolved 
to  be  rid  of  his  load,  and  so  tied  a  stone  to  the  bag  and  threw 
it  into  a  lake,  and  fell  down  half  dead  with  fatigue  and  slept. 

Next  day,  on  awaking,  he  rubbed  his  eyes,  for  there  was  a 
laro-e  fish  standing  on  his  tail  before  him.  In  his  mouth  he 
held  the  bag  of  troubles,  which  he  let  fall  at  the  Prince's  feet. 

"Sir,"  he  said,  "I  return  the  bag  you  seem  to  have  lost." 

The  Prince  said  he  was  much  obliged,  which  was  polite, 
but  not  true.     Soon  after  he  shouldered  the  bag  and  went  on. 

That  night  he  slept  at  an  inn,  and  there  he  left  the  peck  of 
troubles  under  his  pillow  when  he  went  away.  But  an  hour 
afterwards  the  honest  landlord  overtook  him,  and  said,  all  out 
of  breath,  "  Here  is  the  bag  you  left,"  on  which  the  Prince  had 
to  give  him  a  piece  of  gold  as  a  reward. 

Seeing  that  it  was  quite  useless  to  try  to  be  rid  of  his 
burden,  the  Prince  went  on  until,  after  many  days,  he  came  to 
the  palace,  where  there  was  great  rejoicing,  and  where  he  told 
the  Kine  all  of  his  famous  adventures. 

After  this  there  was  much  counsel  as  to  what  should  be 
done  about  the  bag.  The  head  astrologer  was  a  very  wise 
man.  He  said,  "  When  you  have  troubles,  and  when  you  do 
not  know  what  troubles  your  troubles  are,  there  are  no 
troubles  so  troublesome  as  those  troubles.  That  is  my  ad- 
vice." 

Every  one  said  this  was  noble  wisdom. 


AND    THE  PECK   OF  TROUBLES.  103 

The  second  wisest  man  said,  "  Better  to  burn  the  bag,"  but 
the  fairy  godmother,  who  had  now  come  to  court,  cried  out, 
*'  What,  cruel  man  !  Suppose  the  peck  of  troubles  should  be 
alive?      How  cruel  to  burn  it." 

But  at  last  the  Prince  said  he  would  think  about  it,  and 
took  the  bag  away  with  him.  As  he  walked  down  the  garden, 
he  met  the  daughter  of  the  chief  of  the  wise  men.  This  beau- 
tiful lady  was  dying  of  love  for  the  Prince ;  so,  being  moved  by 
his  sadness,  she  said,  "What  is  it?"  but  did  not  raise  her  veil. 

"Lady,"  he  cried,  "I  am  unhappy.  I  have  not  the  courage 
to  open  my  peck  of  troubles,  because  yesterday  I  saw  you, 
and  now  life  has  become  sweet.  And  what  if  there  should 
be  death  in  that  bag  ?  Noiu  I  fear  to  lose  my  life ;  once  I 
did  not  care." 

"  Sir,"  she  said,  "  death  is  not  a  trouble.  Moreover,  this  is 
a  peck  of  troubles ;  and  if  death  be  one,  of  what  account  are 
the  rest," 

"  Oh,  daughter  of  the  wise,"  he  answered,  "  I  shall  take 
courage."  But  still  he  did  not  open  the  bag,  and  grew  more 
and  more  sad  every  day. 

At  last  one  afternoon  he  fell  asleep  in  the  summer-house 
among  the  lily  gardens,  and  soon  the  fair  lady  came  by. 
"  Alas  !"  she  said,  "  where  is  my  Prince  ?  He  thinks  of  nothing 
but  that  peck  of  troubles.  Ah  !  ha !"  she  exclaimed,  seeing 
him  asleep,  and  the  bag  hanging  to  a  chair-back.  "  My  lord 
dreams  ill  dreams,"  for  truly  his  face  was  awry  and  the  bag 
getting  now  big  and  now  small. 

"I  wonder  what  is  in  it?"  said  the  Princess.  "I  will  see 
for  myself."     So  she  took  out  her  little  scissprs  and  cut  open 


I04 


PRINCE  LAZY  BOOTS 


that  bag.  Out  hopped  nine  crows  and  said  caw  and  flew 
away.  "Dear  me,"  cried  the  Princess,  "are  those  what 
troubles  are  Hke?"  Then  she  pulled  the  bag  over  her  head, 
and  as  it  was  a  fairy  bag  she  soon  stretched  it  to  cover  herself 


all  over ;  and  when  this  was  done  she  tied  it  on  the  outside, 
which  could  not  have  been  done  with  any  but  a  fairy  bag. 
"  Now,"  she  said,  "  I  am  a  peck  of  troubles." 

When  the  Prince  awakened,  he  rubbed  his  eyes.     Some- 
times the  bag  had  been  little  and  at  other  times  big,  but  now 


AND    THE  PECK   OF  TROUBLES.  105 

it  was  huge.  Still  he  knew  he  must  carry  it,  because  no  one 
can  get  rid  of  fairy  troubles.  But  at  last  he  cast  it  on  the 
ground, — it  was  so  heavy, — and  gave  it  a  kick.  Then  the  bag 
said,  "Oh!"  "Indeed,"  cried  the  Prince,  and  so  saying  sat 
down,  very  tired.  Then  by  and  by  the  wise  men  came  out 
and  sat  about  and  thought  wisdom.  At  last,  out  came  the 
court  fool.  When  the  Prince  had  heard  a  good  deal  of 
advice  from  the  wise  men,  he  said,  "  In  the  words  of  the  poet, 
'  Foolishness  is  the  wisdom  of  the  desperate.'  What  counsel, 
Sir  Fool,  hast  thou  ?" 

"  Whether,  Prince,"  said  the  fool,  "  I  counsel  well  or  ill, 
wilt  thou  do  it  ?" 

"Surely,"  said  the  Prince,  "the  words  of  wisdom  have 
been  but  as  wrinkled  melons.     I  will  do  as  the  fool  says." 

"  Take,  then,  thy  sword,  oh  Prince,  and  plunge  it  into  this 
stupid  bag." 

"Ha!  ha!"  cried  the  Prince;  but  as  soon  as  he  drew  his 
cimeter  loud  cries  arose  from  the  bag,  which  was  rent  to 
pieces,  and  forth  came  the  daughter  of  the  wise  man,  the  beau- 
tiful Lady  Slipper,  who,  being  very  clever,  cried  out  at  once, — 

"  See,  Prince,  your  peck  of  troubles." 

At  this  he  was  well  pleased,  and  married  the  lady ;  and  if 
it  was  a  Hen  peck  of  troubles  or  not,  who  can  say  ? 


THE    CURLY    FISH. 

— -^i-i^- — 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  lived  in  Upper  Persia  a  great 
King,  called,  in  the  language  of  his  realm,  El  Knobb,  or 
the  Mighty.  In  despite  of  golden  palaces  and  gardens 
populous  with  roses,  the  Caliph  El  Knobb  was  the  most  un- 
happy of  men,  because,  with  every  other  blessing,  Allah  had 
failed  to  grant  to  his  old  age  the  kindly  gift  of  children.  At 
last,  one  fine  morning,  the  Caliph  became  the  happy  father 
of  twin  Princes.  Their  birth  was  announced  with  sound  of 
trumpet  and  cymbals,  and  all  the  wise  men  of  the  empire  con- 
sulted the  stars  as  to  the  future  career  of  the  litde  strangers. 
It  was  wonderful  how  long  it  took  the  Magi  to  do  their  small 
sums  in  astrology ;  one  would  really  have  concluded  that  they 
worked  by  the  day.  At  last  a  day  was  set,  and  the  Muftis, 
and  Bismillahs,  and  Bashful  Bazooks,  and  other  great  folk 
came  to  hear.  The  throne  was  placed  in  the  great  hall  of  the 
palace  ;  and  the  astrologers,  fat  with  star-gazing,  and  all  the 
officers  and  guards,  stood  up  on  either  side.  In  the  distance 
were  the  common  folks,  who  kept  up  such  a  wonderful  thump- 
ing of  their  heads  on  the  floor,  by  way  of  reverence,  that  it 
sounded  like  a  regiment  of  soldiers  tumbling  down-stairs. 

At  last  the  gongs  sounded,  and  twelve  slaves  came  into  the 
hall  carrying  a  great  shield  of  gold  ;   upon  this  stood  four  huge 
io6 


THE    CURLY  FISH.  iq; 


negroes  clad  in  scarlet,  and  bearing  aloft  the  ivory  cradles  of 
the  young  Princes,  On  a  sudden  the  negroes  leaped  down, 
never  so  much  as  shaking  the  precious  weights  which  they 
carried.  The  cradles  were  set  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  and 
Abou  Ben  Muff,  the  chief  Magician,  having  bumped  his  head 
on  the  floor  many  times,  began  to  unroll  the  decree  of  the 
fates. 

Abou  Ben  Muff  was  an  astrologer  of  wondrous  note. 
He  was  tall  and  of  goodly  frame,  and  had  a  beard  so  long 
that  the  middle  of  its  length  was  tucked  into  his  slippers,  and 
the  ends  hung  over  the  arms  of  pages  who  never  came  nearer 
him  than  ten  feet.  His  eyebrows  were  curled  about  his  ears, 
and  his  nose  was  hooked  like  the  cimeter  of  Mahomet. 
Having  cleared  his  throat  seven  times,  Ben  Muff  began  :  "  Oh 
most  potent  Lord!  scourge  of  unbelievers!  Allah  has  sent 
thee  children,  and  lo !  we  have  read  their  fate  in  the  stars 
wherewith  Allah  has  sown  the  furrows  of  heaven.  On  the 
first  night  of  our  watch  we  saw  in  the  sky  signs  and  wonders. 
By  these  we  read  that  Allah  will  soon  take  back  his  gifts, — 
thy  children  will  die  young." 

Then  arose  a  wail  and  tumult.  The  Bashful  Bazooks  bel- 
lowed, and  the  Caliph  swore  high  Persian  ;  the  people  groaned 
and  the  two  little  babies  squealed.  At  last  the  Caliph  arose 
with  a  troubled  and  sorrowful  look.  "Oh  Allah,"  said  he,  "so 
mean  a  thing  as  the  grass  springs,  waves  green  in  the  wind  of 
summer,  and  is  gathered  in  its  due  season.  The  grain  that  you 
send  us  is  fruitful  ere  it  dies  ;  it  cannot  be  that  I  shall  lose  my 
children  before  they  have  grown  into  the  ripe  fruit  of  useful 
deeds.     Woe  is  me  !     How  can  these  things  be  ?     Send  me,  oh 


I08  THE    CURLY  FISH. 


Allah,  better  counsel."  With  this  the  Caliph  and  all  the  people 
bowed  down  in  prayer  to  Allah,  Suddenly  a  fearful  roar  of 
thunder  shook  the  palace  ;  at  the  far  end  of  the  great  hall  the 
people  swayed  to  and  fro,  and  at  last  huddled  into  groups 
agfainst  the  walls.  Then  were  seen  two  criants,  clad  in  flowinor 
robes  of  cloudy  lightness.  With  steps  that  sounded  like  the 
crash  of  the  doors  of  paradise  when  they  close  against  the 
sinful,  and  with  eyes  like  flaming  sapphires,  and  heads  erect, 
they  strode  towards  the  Caliph's  throne.  They  paused  beside 
the  cradles  of  the  young  Princes,  who  lay  hushed  for  very  fear. 
All  was  silent ;  no  one  moved.  At  lencrth  one  of  the  strangers 
said,  "Speak!"  and  at  his  voice  the  walls  trembled,  and  the 
plumes  on  the  soldiers'  casques  shook  as  with  the  blast  of  the 
north  wind.  "Speak!"  echoed  the  second  giant.  "You  have 
asked  for  counsel  from  Allah,  and  lo !  we  are  here."  With 
this  the  Caliph  took  courage.  "Allah  il  Allah,"  said  he,  "send 
us  thy  wisdom.  Will  my  children  die  in  their  youth  ?"  "  No," 
said  the  giants,  and  with  that  the  two  tall  figures  knelt  down 
beside  the  Princes.  Then  each  drew  from  his  ofirdle  a  bright 
arrow  which  he  laid  upon  the  breast  of  one  of  the  twins.  As 
the  giants  rose  up,  their  knee-joints  cracked  like  the  sound  of 
breaking  palm-trees,  and  with  awful  steps  they  walked  together 
down  the  hall.  In  a  moment  they  were  gone,  no  man  knew 
how  or  where.  When  the  Caliph  recovered  from  his  great 
wonder  a  little,  he  went  down  from  his  throne,  and,  with  a 
trembling  hand,  lifted  the  arrows  from  the  bosoms  of  the  twins. 
Upon  the  one  which  was  of  silver  he  read  deeply  graven,  El 
Starr.  On  the  other,  which  was  of  clear  crystal.  El  Meteor 
was  written.     "  Lo  !"  said  he,  "these  be  the  names  which  Allah 


THE    CURLY  FISH. 


109 


hath  given  my  children,  but  who  shall  read  the  riddle  ?  The 
arrow  of  El  Meteor  is  keen  and  bright,  and  plumed  with 
golden  feathers.  The  arrow  of  El  Starr  is  also  sharp,  but  has 
no  feathers  on  the  shaft." 

"  Give  me  a  bow,"  said  a  young  Magician  to  the  Caliph. 
"  I  will  read  the  riddle  of  Allah." 

"It  is  well,"  said  the  Caliph;   "a  bow." 

With  that  the  young  man  ordered  the  hall  to  be  cleared, 
and  seizing  the  plumed  and  crystal  arrow  of  El  Meteor,  fitted 
it  to  the  bow-string.  "  Most  noble  Caliph,"  said  he,  as  he 
raised  the  bow,  "  I  will  aim  at  yonder  pillar."  Upon  this  he 
drew  the  bow  to  its  utmost  arc,  and  like  a  line  of  light  the 
arrow  flashed  through  the  parted  air,  and  true  of  aim  struck 
the  pillar  fair  in  the  middle  ;  but  with  a  sudden  crash  the  fragile 
weapon  broke  upon  the  hard  wood,  and  fell  in  a  thousand 
splinters  on  the  marble  floor. 

"  It  is  well,"  said  the  Magician,  as  he  placed  the  arrow  of  EI 
Starr  upon  the  bow,  and  once  more  drew  the  string.  With  a 
crooked  leap  the  featherless  shaft  quitted  the  string.  Whiz  !  it 
flew  up  against  the  ceiling ;  bang !  it  came  down  upon  the 
gouty  toes  of  the  great  Abou  Ben  Muff,  and  at  last,  with  an 
awkward  jump,  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  Caliph. 

"  I  see,"  said  the  Caliph,  as  it  fell.  "  Great  is  Allah  !  Keen, 
swift,  well  aimed,  and  fragile.  Tough,  sharp,  aimless,  and 
lucky:  such  shall  my  children  be,  Allah  il  x^llah."  He  at  once 
ordered  the  head  Magician  to  be  choked  with  his  own  long 
beard,  and  promoted  the  wise  young  Soothsayer  to  the  place  of 
head  astrologer. 

As  the  years  fled  away,  men  forgot  the  strange  genii,  and  the 


I  ]  o  THE    CURL  V  FISH. 


royal  twins  grew  up  into  stately  young  men.  Both  were  tall 
and  strone;  but  it  was  El  Starr  who  best  knew  the  Koran  ;  it 
was  El  Meteor  who  threw  the  lance  with  most  unerring  aim. 

El  Meteor  was  noted  far  and  wide  for  his  courage  in  the 
chase,  and  for  the  headlong  and  thoughtless  ardor  with  which 
he  plunged  into  danger.  His  brother,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
of  a  wavering  nature,  ever  doubtful  of  success,  and  therefore 
ever  unsuccessful  in  his  pursuits,  yet  was  he  so  kindly  that 
to  be  with  him  was  an  endless  lesson  in  goodness  and  honor. 
He  was  so  gende,  indeed,  that  by  some  men  he  was  thought 
to  be  wanting  in  courage.  Now  it  happened  that  Abou  Ben 
Muff  was  yet  alive,  although  he  had  been  condemned  by  the 
lips  of  the  Caliph  himself.  When  the  executioner  was  about 
to  tie  his  long  beard  about  his  neck,  the  wily  old  fox  gave 
the  long  hair  a  jerk,  and  the  whole  huge  forest  of  beard, 
whiskers,  and  moustaches  came  off  "  Lo !"  said  he,  "it  is 
false  ;  how  can  I  now  be  strangled  with  my  own  beard  ?"  The 
case  was  so  plain  that  the  astrologer  escaped  the  fate  that 
had  awaited  him.  Very  soon  he  regained  his  place  in  the 
Caliph's  favor,  and  lost  no  chance  of  poisoning  the  Caliph's 
mind  against  the  young  Princes,  and  chiefly  against  El  Starr. 

When  the  twins  were  just  twenty-one  years  old,  the  empire 
of  El  Knobb  was  suddenly  invaded  by  a  great  army,  composed 
of  two  populous  tribes  called  the  Kurds  and  Wheys.  It 
seemed  that  the  King  of  these  tribes  had  a  daughter  of  such 
marvellous  beauty  that  the  flowers  grew  ashamed  of  them- 
selves as  she  passed,  and  the  stars  of  heaven  sang  hymns  in 
her  praise.  From  neighboring  kingdoms  and  from  lands  be- 
yond the  sea  great  lords  and  princes  came  to  woo  her.     Their 


THE    CURL  Y  FISH.  1 1 1 


sails  of  silk,  and  their  ships  with  golden  cordage,  crowded 
every  port  in  her  father's  realm,  so  that  men  ceased  to  say- 
Allah  il  Allah,  and  began  to  swear  by  the  eyes  of  Elula,  the 
Beautiful.  Among  her  lovers  was  the  young  Prince,  El  Me- 
teor. Every  week  he  visited  her  father's  palace,  and  urged  his 
suit  with  all  the  ardor  of  his  nature.  Nothing  so  much  angered 
him  as  the  presence  of  other  suitors.  Seventeen  of  them  he 
slew  in  single  combats  ;  and  one  fine  night  he  attacked  their 
ships  as  they  lay  at  anchor,  and  burned  them  up,  silk  sails, 
o-olden  rigging,  sailors,  and  cooks.  Swifdy  then  he  sailed 
away  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  and  the  King  of  the  Kurds 
and  Wheys  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  growl  and  smoke  his 
chibouque,  for  nobody  knew  who  had  done  it. 

Before  long,  however.  El  Muff  came  to  know  of  it,  so  he 
tucked  up  his  robe  and  repaired  to  the  study  of  the  other 
twin,  El  Starr.  "  High  and  Mighty  Prince,"  said  the  Magician, 
"  I  am  here  to  serve  you.  Do  you  not  know  that  it  was  your 
brother,  El  Meteor,  who  burned  up  the  ships  of  the  princes 
who  came  to  woo  Elula?" 

"  It  is  so,"  said  the  Prince,  for  he  had  thought  as  much. 

"And  do  you  not  see,"  continued  the  star-gazer,  "that 
any  one  who  will  tell  this  to  the  King  of  Kurd  will  ruin  El 
Meteor's  hopes  of  the  Princess  ?" 

"  It  is  so,"  cried  El  Starr. 

"  Suppose,"  added  the  astrologer,  "  that  you  were  to  do  this, 
would  it  not  be  a  good  way  to  win  the  Princess  yourself?" 

"  Ho  !"  said  El  Starr,  in  great  wrath  ;  "begone  !"  and  with 
this  he  seized  a  stick,  and  pursued  Abou  Ben  Muff  until  he 
lost  sight  of  him  in  the  palace  gardens. 


I  I  2  THE    CURL  Y  FISH. 


Shortly  after  this  attempt  to  make  mischief,  El  Starr  warned 
his  brother  of  the  astrologer's  wicked  plots.  When  the  astrol- 
oger found  that  his  efforts  to  cause  evil  blood  between  the 
twins  had  failed,  he  took  care  to  make  things  as  bad  as  he 
could  by  telling  the  King  of  Kurd  who  had  burned  the  ships 
of  his  daughter's  suitors.  The  King  cursed  in  Kurdish,  and 
El  Meteor  was  forbidden  to  visit  Elula  on  pain  of  death.  No 
sooner  did  El  Meteor  receive  the  news  than  he  raoed  like  an 
angry  hornet,  and,  calling  for  his  horse,  went  fiercely  away  to 
the  chase.  The  first  day  he  did  nothing  but  vow  vengeance  ; 
but  on  the  second  he  killed  eleven  hippopotami,  a  young 
dromedary,  and  four  lions,  which  so  comforted  him  that  he 
returned  home  in  rather  a  pleasant  humor.  "  Bismillah,"  said 
he,  as  he  rode  along,  "  Allah  has  made  an  abundance  of 
women;  why  should  we  mourn?"  Perhaps  If  the  Princess 
had  returned  his  love  he  would  have  been  less  easily  pleased. 

One  fine  morning  not  long  after  this  the  Princess  Elula 
walked  with  her  maids  on  the  banks  of  the  river  w^hich  lay 
between  the  land  of  Kurd  and  that  of  El  Knobb.  Like  a 
fleet  of  fairy  ships  the  purple  and  silver  lily-flowers  floated  by 
thousands  on  the  water.  "These  be  shells  that  swim,"  said 
Elula ;  "  let  us  wade  in  and  gather  them."  Her  attendants 
begged  her  not  to  do  so  ;  but  the  Princess  was  wilful,  and 
would  have  it  that  she  must  wade  into  the  water  without  in  the 
least  heeding  their  words,  or  caring  for  her  clothes.  "  It  is 
great  fun,"  said  the  girls  who  were  with  her,  and  their  white 
feet  twinkled  clear  in  the  water,  and  trod  on  pebbles  which 
actually  rolled  about  in  delight.  "Isn't  it  nice?"  lauehed  the 
girls,  and  they  waded  in  yet  farther  and  farther,  while  seven 


THE    CURL  Y  FISH.  \  \  3 


old  ladies  whom  they  had  left  on  shore  were  seized  with  hys- 
terics fearful  to  see.  "  Come,  come,"  said  Elula,  "  here  be  the 
cities  of  lilies."  Suddenly  a  cry  of  fear  arose  in  place  of  mirth. 
From  beneath  a  thick  grove  near  by,  on  the  margin  of  the 
stream,  a  black  boat  shot  out  into  the  river.  On  the  bow  a 
fiery  eye  glared  red  on  the  Princess,  and  in  the  stern  an  ugly 
hump-backed  Dwarf  sat  in  silence.  Like  a  swift  javelin 
thrown  by  an  unseen  hand,  without  sail  or  oar  it  shot  towards 
the  Princess  ;  beside  her  the  boat  stopped,  dashing  foam  upon 
her  as  she  stood. 

"  Come,  thou  art  mine  !"  cried  the  Dwarf. 

"Never!     Allah,  help  me!"  screamed  the  Princess. 

At  the  name  of  Allah  the  Dwarf  scowled  so  darkly  that 
the  waves  whereon  his  image  fell  flashed  into  a  foam  of  fright. 

"  Allah !  Allah !"  cried  the  lady,  for  she  knew  that  so  long 
as  she  called  on  Allah  the  Dwarf  could  not  touch  her.  "  Allah  !" 
cried  she,  panting  with  fear,  while  the  fishes  nibbled  and  kissed 
her  little  white  toes. 

"  Bosh !"  said  the  Dwarf,  and  on  a  sudden  dashed  such  a 
handful  of  water  in  her  face  that  presendy  she  talked  nothing 
but  mouthfuls  of  water,  and  could  cry  Allah  no  longer.  Then 
with  a  yell  the  Dwarf  seized  her  by  the  hands  and  drew  her 
into  his  boat.  At  once  the  red  eye  on  the  prow  glared  redder, 
the  boat  almost  sprung  through  the  water,  and  the  foam  was 
dashed  up  so  high  before  the  cleaving  prow  that  it  hung  one 
constant  arch  of  light  above  the  boat,  and  fell  in  crystal  drops 
far  astern  upon  its  snowy  wake. 

No  eagle's  flight  is  swifter;  on  and  on,  beyond  the  lilies, 
around  the  farthest  hill,  into  the  sunset,  lost,  lost,  lost !     Before 

8 


1 1 4  THE    CURL  V  FISH. 


the  last  ripple  broke  on  the  bank,  seven-and-tvventy  maids  of 
honor  fainted.  Six  old  nurses  stabbed  themselves  with  their 
scissors,  and  all  the  rest  yelled  murder  in  fine  contralto  voices. 
Who  shall  describe  the  wrath  of  the  King  of  Kurds  !  Troops 
of  horsemen  swept  wildly  along  the  river-banks,  swift  caiques 
fled  arrowy  across  its  bosom.  Every  thicket  was  searched, 
every  house  opened,  and  the  newspapers  were  allowed  to 
print  nothing  which  did  not  begin  with  "  Lost,  strayed,  or 
stolen."  All  was  vain.  The  court  went  into  mourning ;  and 
the  maids  of  honor,  having  told  all  that  they  knew  of  the 
matter,  were  condemned  to  hold  their  tongues  forever  after 
on  pain  of  death.  Besides  this  cruel  punishment,  all  the  old 
women  in  the  harem  were  forbidden  to  knit  from  that  day 
forward,  and  shopping  of  every  kind  was  positively  prohibited. 
Still  the  King  was  unsatisfied,  and  remembering  how  Ben  Muff 
had  befriended  him  with  regard  to  the  matter  of  the  burned 
ships,  he  sent  for  that  illustrious  old  Soothsayer. 

"  Good,"  said  Abou  Ben  Muff,  as  he  read  the  letter,  which 
was  handed  to  him  by  a  trusty  messenger.  "  I  will  attend  his 
Highness." 

That  night,  at  a  late  hour,  he  wrapped  himself  in  his  cloak, 
and,  pulling  his  turban  over  his  brow,  stole  into  the  sleeping- 
chamber  of  the  young  Prince,  El  Meteor.  With  a  careful 
hand  the  astrologer  took  the  Prince's  sword  from  beside  his 
bed,  and,  rolling  it  in  the  folds  of  his  cloak,  crept  silently 
out  of  the  palace.  With  rapid  steps  he  gained  his  horse, 
which  was  tied  near  by,  and,  throwing  himself  into  the  saddle, 
galloped  away  through  the  darkness.  For  six  hours  he  urged 
his  rapid  course,  until  he  saw  with  joy  the  bright  waves  of  the 


THE    CURLY  FISH.  \\ 


river  shining  in  the  moonUght.  In  a  moment  he  stood  upon 
the  shore.  With  El  Meteor's  sword-point  he  drew  a  circle  on 
the  sand,  and,  bowing  his  head,  he  muttered  some  mystical 
words.  A  fierce,  rushing  sound  was  heard  ;  a  red  point  ot 
o-rowinof  lieht  was  seen  in  the  distance.  Near  and  more  near  it 
came,  until  the  red  eye  of  the  Dwarf's  boat  glared  wildly  on 
the  wet  sand  at  the  feet  of  the  Soothsayer.  "  It  is  well,"  said 
he,  and  stepped  into  the  little  vessel.  Whiz  !  and  away  it  flew, 
the  Dwarf  in  silence  scowling  on  the  water,  his  master  standing 
erect  and  calm  upon  the  prow.  Midway  on  their  course,  Abou 
Ben  Muff  lifted  the  cimeter  of  El  Meteor,  and,  with  a  vigorous 
cast,  threw  it  far  away  into  the  channel  of  the  river.  The 
bright  rubies  on  its  handle  glittered  in  the  soft  pale  light,  and 
with  a  graceful  curve  the  trusty  weapon  sunk  into  the  stream. 

Before  the  day  was  over,  Ben  Muff  presented  himself  at  the 
throne  of  the  Kurdish  King.  The  King,  without  delay,  told  him 
of  his  desire  to  gain  some  knowledge  as  to  the  wretch  w^ho  had 
made  away  with  the  Princess. 

"She  is  eone,"  said  the  astrolos^er;  "  vou  will  see  the 
maiden  no  more." 

"Woe  is  me  !"  cried  the  King.  "Who  is  it  that  has  taken 
from  me  the  joy  of  my  age  ?" 

"Who  shall  say?"  answered  Ben  Muff.  "I  know  not. 
Why  should  you  believe  the  lying  tongues  of  your  harem  ? 
Doubtless  the  maiden  is  drowned,  and,  to  save  their  necks 
from  the  bow-strine,  her  women  have  souo-ht  to  hide  her  late.'* 

"  But  what  to  do  ?"  said  the  King. 

"Search  the  river,"  said  Ben  Muff. 

The  King  was  not  very  well  pleased  with  the  answer;  but, 


1 1 6  THE    CURL  V  FISH. 


hiding  his  chagrin,  he  loaded  the  astrologer  with  gifts,  and  so 
sent  him  away  rejoicing. 

Before  a  week  had  passed,  the  Kurds  and  Wheys  had 
raked  the  river  from  mountain  to  sea.  Four  dead  camels 
were  the  sole  proceeds.  Upon  this  the  King  sent  word  to  Ben 
Muff  that  he  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  cheat,  and  only 
wished  he  might  just  lay  his  hands  on  him. 

"Look  again,"  was  the  only  reply  the  astrologer  deigned 
to  make. 

"  Allah  il  Allah,"  said  the  King ;  and  one  hundred  thousand 
men  dug  a  new  channel,  and  for  fifty  Persian  miles  they  turned 
the  tortured  river  from  its  bed.  At  last  a  lucky  workman 
found  the  bright  sword  of  El  Meteor.     It  was  sent  to  the  King. 

"  Is  this  all  ?"   cried  he. 

"We  have  found,"  said  the  officers,  "eleven  more  dead 
camels,  six  sheep,  plenty  of  fish,  and  this  cimeter." 

"We  have  doubled  the  national  debt,"  said  the  King,  "and 
got  some  dead  catde  and  an  old  blade."  With  that  he  drew 
the  sword  from  its  jewelled  sheath,  and  saw  written  on  the 
blade,  "  I  am  the  slave  of  the  Prince  El  Meteor." 

"  By  Mahmoud !  the  star-gazer  hath  brilliant  counsels," 
said  the  King.  "  Not  content  with  burning  the  ships  of  my 
guests,  this  young  rascal  has  stolen  my  daughter."  Therefore 
with  horse  and  foot  the  King  of  Kurds  invaded  the  hapless 
land  of  El  Knobb.  In  vain  the  Caliph  protested,  and  El 
Meteor  swore  that  he  had  not  set  eyes  on  the  Princess  for  a 
year  at  least. 

The  King  would  believe  no  one,  and  the  astrologer  chuckled, 
while  blazing  villages  marked  the  path  of  the  invading  army. 


THE    CURL  Y  FISH.  \  \  7 


Meanwhile,  El  Meteor  raised  a  great  force,  and  with  his 
brother  went  out  to  do  batde  with  the  angry  Kurds  and 
Wheys.  What  between  El  Meteor's  rash  courage  and  the 
wavering  temper  of  El  Starr  they  lost  seventeen  pitched 
batdes,  and  their  fine  army  was  brought  down  to  a  mere  hand 
ful  of  men.  With  these  they  retreated  into  the  hills,  carrying 
away  with  them  the  old  Caliph,  and  leaving  the  Kurds  in  pos- 
session of  the  capital. 

El  Meteor,  almost  sick  with  rage,  sallied  out  upon  his  foes 
from  the  mountain  fastnesses,  now  by  day,  now  by  night,  so 
that  they  began  to  find  their  conquest  no  very  easy  posses- 
sion. 

One  day,  however,  an  ambush  was  laid,  and  the  young 
Princes  were  surrounded  by  an  overwhelming  force.  El  Starr 
was,  as  usual,  undecided  as  to  what  should  be  done, — at  one 
minute  thinking  of  surrender,  at  the  next  wishing  to  fight  to 
the  death.  El  Meteor  cut  short  the  parley  by  crying  his  war 
cry,  and  plunging  headlong  on  the  enemy.  Like  a  great  sea 
that  closes  over  a  sinking  ship,  the  waves  of  battle  closed  upon 
the  brothers.  Now  up,  now  down,  a  thousand  crooked  cime- 
ters  waved  and  flashed  around  them.  Night  came  on,  and 
sdll  faint  and  weary,  behind  the  growing  heap  of  dead,  they 
fought  despairing.  At  last  it  was  over,  and  the  quiet  little 
stars  throbbed  with  sweet  pity  as  they  looked  down  upon  the 
battle-plain.  By  and  by  a  single  wounded  wretch  dragged 
himself  out  from  the  mass  of  hacked  and  bleeding  men.  It 
was  the  Prince  El  Starr.  "Woe,  woe,"  wailed  the  wounded 
Prince,  "  woe  is  me,  oh,  brother !"  At  a  rivulet  near  by.  El 
Starr   slaked    his    burninq-   thirst;    and   having    cleansed    the 


Il8  THE    CURLY  FISH. 


clotted  blood  from  his  many  wounds,  began  to  turn  over 
wearily  the  pile  of  death.  At  last  the  pale  face  of  El  Meteor 
was  seen  by  the  Prince.  He  was  lying  by  himself,  and  on  his 
bosom  rested  the  shattered  fragment  of  a  crystal  arrow. 
Sadly,  El  Starr  drew  the  body  into  a  thicket  near  by,  and,  cov- 
erino-  it  over  with  big  palm-leaves,  took  the  sword  of  the  dead 
man,  and,  leaning  on  its  handle,  staggered  faintly  and  mourn- 
fully up  the  mountain-pass.  The  news  of  his  son's  death  sadly 
affected  the  old  Caliph,  whose  followers  had  all  been  killed,  or 
else  had  fled  away,  saving  only  El  Starr;  as  for  Abou  Ben 
Muff,  he  had  gone  over  to  the  invader.  The  Caliph's  grief 
was  disturbed  by  the  sound  of  the  Kurdish  drums,  and  to- 
gether the  father  and  the  son  fled  away  farther  into  the  hills. 
At  length  they  found  refuge  in  the  hut  of  a  shepherd,  and 
here  in  disguise  they  rested  until  the  wounded  Prince  was 
restored  to  health  and  vigor. 

One  day  the  Caliph  called  his  son  to  his  side,  and  thus 
addressed  him :  "  It  is  plain,  my  son,  that  until  the  lost  Princess 
be  brought  back  to  her  father,  we  cannot  hope  for  safety,  and 
yet  less  for  a  return  to  our  much  loved  home.  I  am  near  to 
death,  and  would  not  wish  to  die  an  exile.  I  have  long  be- 
lieved that  the  Princess  was  spirited  away  by  evil  genii  who 
dwell  on  the  farther  borders  of  our  kingdom,  in  the  land  of 
Al  Mudd.  There  the  sun  sits  forever  on  the  horizon's  verge, 
and  there  gigantic  cranes  wander  in  search  of  travellers, 
across  deep  morasses  rarely  tracked  by  human  feet.  But  I 
dread  to  tell  you  all  the  terrors  of  this  fearful  land.  Have 
you  the  courage  to  seek  the  lost  Elula  ?" 

For  a  moment  the  Prince  paused  to  think,  ever  doubtful 


THE    CURLY  FISH.  119 


of  his  own   prowess.     At  last  he  rephed,  "  I  will  go,  but  I  fear 
that  I  shall  not  succeed." 

"My  son,"  said  the  old  Caliph,  "doubt  is  the  father  of 
failure,  and  the  grandfather  of  disgrace.  I  charge  you  lay  It 
aside  ;  it  has  already  proved  the  bane  of  your  life.  Now,  as  a 
father,  I  bid  you  to  go."  With  that  the  old  man  kissed  the 
forehead  of  El  Starr,  and,  placing  in  his  girdle  the  silvery  and 
plumeless  arrow  with  which  the  genii  had  foretold  his  char- 
acter, bade  him  adieu. 

"I  will  go  to-morrow,"  said  El  Starr. 

"To-night  or  never,"  answered  the  Caliph.  "Go;  and  I 
will  await  your  return  in  this  secure  and  quiet  retreat." 

With  a  heavy  heart  the  young  Prince  girded  on  his  brother's 
sword,  and,  placing  the  Koran  in  his  bosom,  began  to  climb 
the  mountain.  Twenty  days  he  travelled  onward  over  huge 
snow-clad  hill's;  many  great  rivers  he  crossed,  and  thus  living 
on  berries  and  roots,  at  last  descended  from  the  hills  and 
stood  on  the  shores  of  a  huge  ocean.  All  was  desolate  and 
barren  ;  there  was  not  a  human  home  within  sight.  Before 
him  lay  only  a  waste  of  wind-worried  waters.  Far  away  he 
could  just  detect  a  cloudy  strip  of  distant  land,  the  wild  and 
mysterious  land  of  Al  Mudd.  How  was  he  to  reach  it  ?  Full 
of  uncertainty,  he  seized  a  log  from  the  beach,  proceeded  to 
roll  it  into  the  water,  and  then,  grasping  one  end  of  it,  he  tried 
doubtfully  the  depth  of  the  shelving  shore.  After  wading 
some  distance,  the  water  came  up  to  his  neck,  and  his  heart 
began  to  fail  him. 

"  Fool  that  I  am  !"  cried  he,  "  to  think  of  fording  the  sea." 
The  doubt  came  too  late,  for  the  wind  was  blowing  from  off 


120  THE    CURLY  FISH. 


the  land,  and  the  unfortunate  young  man  soon  found  himself 
obliged  to  swim.     To  his  horror  the  land  seemed  to  recede, 
and  before  long  he  and  the  log,  his  sole  hope,  were  fast  drift- 
ing across  the  stormy  surf.     For  eight  long  hours  he  held  on 
to  the  mouldy  trunk,  and  as  night  fell,  and  the  moon   rose,  he 
saw  before  him  the  long  low  line  of  the  enchanted  land.     Just 
as  the  last  relics  of  strength  were  leaving  him,  his  feet  felt  the 
shore,  and  with  a  cry  of  joy  he  welcomed  the  huge  billow  that 
rolled    him,  crushed   and    bleeding,  upon   the   sloping   beach. 
How  long  he  lay  there  it  were  hard  to  say.     By  and  by,  how- 
ever, he  awakened,  and  drawing  from  his  vest  a  flask  of  Shiraz 
wine  he  drained  it  to  the  last  drop ;  and  having  thus  gained  a 
little  strength,  got  up  on  his  knees,  and  taking  out  the  Koran, 
thanked  Allah  for  his  saving  mercy.     "  Well  may  they  call  me 
^aimless   and    lucky,'"   said    he;   and    thus  saying,  arose  and 
began   to   look  about  him.     It  was,   in   truth,  a  fearful   land. 
Before  him  lay  one  long  and  wide  morass  flecked  here  and 
there  with  pools  of  black  and  stagnant  water  and  patches  of 
lono-  rank  o-rasses.     Upon  the  far  horizon  sat  the  never-chang- 
ino-  sun,  an  orb  of  fiery  gold  that  stared  through  sullen  masses 
of  cloud,  which  now  and  then  trailed  across  his  scarlet  breadth 
long  strips  of  darkness  like  the  iron-barred  visor  of  a  Prank- 
ish knight.     Before  the  Prince  all  was  unutterably  silent,  be- 
hind him  the  wailing  sea  sobbed  as  it  climbed  the  gradual  shore. 
El  Starr  mused  a  little,  and  tightening  his  sword-belt,  began 
cautiously  to  pick  his  steps  over  the  black  and  oozy  marsh. 
It  was  no  easy  task :  at  every  step  he  plunged  to  the  knee  in 
the  soft  slime.     As   his  strength  failed,  he   sunk  deeper  and 
deeper,   until  at  last  he   found  himself  waist-high  and   com- 


THE    CURLY  FISH.  121 


pletely  exhausted.  Just  then  a  great  shadow  hid  the  sun,  and 
looking  towards  it  he  saw  a  sight  which  appalled  his  very 
soul.  A  monstrous  crane,  or  stork,  some  thirty  feet  high,  and 
with  legs  like  palm-trees,  was  bounding  over  the  marsh  and 
rapidly  nearing  him.  Presently  the  bird  saw  him,  and  with  a 
cry  of  delight  alighted  beside  him. 

"  Well,"  thought  El  Starr,  "  I  had  better  put  a  good  face  on 
it;"  so  he  cried  out,  ''Halloo,  there,  stranger,  help  a  poor 
fellow." 

"Boo!"  said  the  stork;  "you  are  in  a  fix.  Come,  clean 
yourself;  I  want  to  eat  you ;"  and  at  this  he  hooked  the 
Prince's  neck  betwixt  two  of  his  toes,  and  jerked  him  out 
from  the  mud  with  a  great  noise  like  the  sound  of  a  cork 
coming  out  of  a  bottle.  "  You  are  thin,"  said  the  Stork,  as  he 
rolled  El  Starr  over  with  his  foot. 

"  Too  thin  to  eat,  I  hope,"  said  the  Prince. 

"I  have  eaten  worse,"  said  the  Stork.  "Come,  undress; 
I've  no  notion  of  digesting  your  clothes.  Hurry  yourself;  I 
am  almost  starved." 

"You  can't  eat  me  without  salt,"  cried  El  Starr,  in  perfect 
despair. 

At  this  moment  the  Stork  saw  a  man  riding  calmly  over 
the  morass.     "Look  !"  said  he  ;  "  there  comes  the  Magician." 

"Who?"  asked  the  Prince. 

"  Some  folks  call  him  Ben  Muff,"  said  the  bird.  "  He  will 
turn  you  into  a  sheep  if  he  catches  you." 

"Eat  me,  then,"  cried  the  Prince,  "and  be  done  with  it." 

But  the  rider  approached  so  rapidly  that  the  bird  had  no 
time  for  his  meal;  so  he  said,  "I'll  save  you  up  a  litde,"  and. 


122  THE    CURLY  FISH. 


bending  down,  seized  El  Starr,  and  whipping  him  under  his 
wing,  shut  it  down  again  upon  his  prisoner. 

El  Starr  was  almost  smothered ;  but  managing  to  separate 
the  feathers  a  little,  he  peeped  through,  and  saw  that  the 
horseman  was  indeed  our  old  friend  Ben  Muff  He  drew  rein 
at  a  short  distance,  and  thus  addressed  the  Stork : 

"Well,  my  pet,  how  are  you  ?" 

"  Hungry!"  said  the  bird,  with  a  voice  like  that  of  a  bull. 

"What's  the  matter  with  your  left  wing?" 

"  I've  an  indigestion,"  answered  the  Stork.  "  I  ate  three 
babies  this  morning;  they  have  disagreed  with  me," 

"I  always  told  you,"  said  Ben  Muff,  "you  didn't  chew  your 
food  enough.  Go  to  the  castle  now  ;  I  have  a  mufti  there  for 
your  supper." 

"  Good,"  said  the  bird,  and  instantly  began  to  bound  over 
the  wet  ground  with  steps  that  measured  twenty  feet  at  the 
very  least.  After  running  thus  for  some  hours,  the  Stork 
came  near  a  great  flock  of  similar  birds,  who  hailed  him  from 
a  bit  of  dry  ground  near  by.  Our  friend,  the  Stork,  flapped 
his  vast  wings  by  way  of  greeting,  and  in  consequence  El 
Starr  turned  two  somersaults  in  mid  air  and  fell  plump  into  a 
bed  of  mud,  which  thus  broke  his  fall.  Finding  himself  so 
happily  forgotten,  he  wriggled  into  the  marsh,  and,  leaving  his 
nose  exposed,  he  covered  one  eye  with  a  knot  of  grass  and 
awaited  the  result.  After  a  little,  the  Stork  came  back,  and 
took  a  good  look  for  his  lost  dinner.  Alas  !  it  was  gone,  and 
the  disappointed  bird  was  forced  to  give  up  the  search.  Pretty 
soon  he  and  his  companions  went  away  over  the  marsh  with 
gigantic  steps,  and  El  Starr  slowly  crawled  out  of  the  mud, 


THE    CURLY  FISH. 


123 


and  on  to  the  dry  land  which  the  birds  had  deserted.  He 
soon  saw  that  he  was  upon  the  only  high  spot  of  earth  within 
view ;  it  was  not  over  a  mile  in  breadth,  and  arose  like  an 
island  above  the  dead  level  of  the  marshes.  At  the  centre  it 
was  nearly  as  high  as  the  mountains  of  Ming.  About  two- 
thirds  of  the  way  down  a  rapid  stream  ran  around  the  hill. 
It  had  no  end  and  no  beginning,  and  yet  with  the  force  of  a 
torrent  it  constantly  rushed  onward  through  its  broad  and 
pebbly  channel.  El  Starr  soon  climbed  up  to  its  shore,  and, 
after  some  labor,  succeeded  in  cleansing  his  face  and  clothes. 
Then  seizing  his  cimeter,  he  plunged  into  the  rapid  current; 
so  swift  it  was,  that  although  but  narrow,  the  Prince  floated  a 
good  half-mile  around  the  hill  before  he  could  gain  the  opposite 
side.  The  bank  was  covered  with  a  dense  thicket  of  thornless 
roses,  whose  odors  were  so  strong  that  El  Starr  became  faint, 
and  being,  moreover,  very  weary,  fell  fast  asleep.  When  he 
awoke  it  was  night;  but  the  red  sun  still  sat  on  the  horizon, 
angry  and  crimson.  Through  the  bushes  he  saw  lights  flashing, 
and  heard  such  an  awful  mewinof  as  never  before  was  heard. 
Very  cautiously,  El  Starr  dragged  himself  through  the  bushes, 
and  thus  coming  nearer  to  the  blaze,  beheld  a  most  singular 
sight.  The  mountain  was  belted  round  with  a  circle  of  huge 
watch-fires  ;  about  them  were  seated  or  lying  innumerable  cats, 
not  one  of  them  less  than  four  feet  high.  Their  eyes  flashed 
in  the  red  fire-light,  and  the  most  of  them  were  hungrily  gnaw- 
ing the  bones  of  rats  and  mice  scarcely  smaller  than  themselves. 
By  and  by  the  cats  fell  asleep  one  by  one,  and  none  was  left 
awake,  save  a  solitary  guard,  who  mewed  frightfully  at  inter- 
vals.    Seizinor  his  chance.  El  Starr  draofo-ed  himself  across  the 


124 


THE    CURLY  FISH. 


line,  and  leaving  the  cats  behind  him,  ascended  the  mountain 
with  rapid  steps.  The  road,  for  such  there  was,  lay  over  a 
green  and  grassy  slope  which  was  strewn  with  human  bones. 
Here  and  there  he  saw  sheep  with  long  fleece  of  floss  silk. 
These  regarded  him  with  a  curious  blank  look,  and  now  and 
then  an  old  ram  would  try  to  drive  him  back. 

The  Prince  finding  no  greater  hindrance,  continued  his 
march,  and  at  last  gained  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  By 
the  dim  light  he  saw  before  him  a  small  plain,  covered  with  a 
thousand  pleasant  flowers,  and  crossed  in  every  direcUon  by 
little  streams  whose  sofdy-flowing  waters  sang  forever  the 
most  bewitching  melodies.  In  the  centre  of  this  wonderful 
garden  arose  a  little  palace  of  crusted  gold.  It  was  built  in 
the  Moorish  style,  with  moon-like  arches,  and  numberless 
columns  of  porphyry  and  jasper.  It  was  so  wonderfully 
beautiful  that  the  Prince  forgot  his  ordinary  caution,  and  in- 
stantly advanced  to  the  portal.  To  his  astonishment  the  vast 
ebony  doors  flew  open  before  him,  and  with  a  thunder  crash 
closed  behind  him.  He  now  found  himself  in  a  hall  of  black 
marble,  lighted  with  a  multitude  of  alabaster  lamps.  Perceiv- 
ing no  one,  the  Prince  walked  on  in  no  litde  awe,  until  he  came 
to  a  door  at  the  farthest  end.  It  did  not  open  like  the  other, 
and  El  Starr  found  himself  a  captive.  In  vain  he  ran  to  and 
fro ;  in  vain  his  hands  sought  for  some  bolt  or  secret  spring. 
It  was  only  too  plain :  El  Starr,  the  aimless,  had  gotten  in  ;  El 
Starr,  the  aimless,  could  not  get  out.  At  last,  weary  with  use- 
less trials,  he  sat  down  at  the  foot  of  a  pillar,  and  awaited  his 
certain  fate.  Before  very  long  the  young  man  heard  a  noise, 
and,  leaping  to  his  feet,  hid  himself  behind  a  pillar.     A  light 


THE    CURLY  FISH.  125 


footfall  was  now  heard,  and  a  lady  of  the  most  ravishing  love- 
liness  walked  by  the  hidden  Prince.  The  damsel  was  so  ex- 
quisite that  the  Prince  again  forgot  himself,  and,  springing 
forward,  fell  upon  his  knees  at  her  feet.  The  lady  started  back 
in  dismay  ;  but  observing  the  manly  and  noble  features  of  El 
Starr,  she  subdued  her  terror,  and  thus  addressed  him  : 

"  Wretched  mortal,  if  such  you  be,  fly,  I  implore  you,  from 
this  haunt  of  evil." 

"An  hour  past,"  said  El  Starr,  "and  I  would  willingly  have 
gone ;  now  I  would  wish  to  live  here  were  it  the  palace  of 
Eblis." 

"Who  are  you  ?"  inquired  the  lady. 

"I  am  the  Prince  El  Starr,"  he  returned.  "Hitherto  men 
have  called  me  the  aimless,  henceforth  may  they  name  me  the 
blest  of  Allah ;  for,  surely,  having  seen  you,  none  other  can  be 
compared  to  me." 

"Are  you,  in  truth,  that  same  El  Starr  whom  my  cruel 
tyrant,  Abou  Ben  Muff,  so  earnestly  hates  ?  Fly,  I  pray  you, 
or  death  is  your  fate.  I  am  called  Elula ;"  and  with  this  she 
turned  her  eyes  so  pleadingly  upon  the  Prince  that  his  whole 
soul  melted  in  the  sunlight  of  her  glance. 

"Come,"  cried  he,  "let  us  fly  together.  It  is  you  I  have 
come  to  seek." 

"Fly?"  said  the  Princess.  "Would  it  were  possible  !  yet  is 
there  one  resource.  Here  is  an  amulet;  it  was  given  to  me 
by  my  father.  Useless  in  the  hand  of  a  woman,  it  is  all  power- 
ful in  the  hand  of  a  man,  if  he  but  possess  my  love." 

"Oh!"  groaned  the  Prince,  "give  it  to  me." 

"  Ah,"  said  the  lady,  "  so  noble  a  face  can  but  foretell  a 


126  THE    CURLY  FISH. 


noble  soul ;  I  will  give  it  to  you.  Men  have  called  you  '  the 
aimless,'  '  the  wavering.'  Know  that  this  little  gift  will  always 
enable  you  to  avoid  failure.  Whenever  a  difficulty  presents 
itself,  place  this  upon  your  hand."  So  saying,  she  held  out  a 
litde  fish  made  of  thin  leaf-like  tissue.  "  Let  us  question  it ;" 
and  she  laid  it  upon  the  open  hand  of  the  wondering  Prince. 
"  Now,"  said  she,  "  curly  fish,  curly  fish,  shall  we  get  out?"  In- 
stantly the  litde  animal  began  to  curl  up  into  the  oddest  pos- 
sible shapes,  twisting  and  writhing  unul  it  fell  on  the  floor. 
"  We  shall,"  said  the  Princess. 

"Good!"  quoth  El  Starr;  and  so  soon  as  success  appeared 
no  longer  doubtful,  a  thousand  schemes  flashed  through  his 
mind.  "  I  see,"  he  cried.  "  Come,  the  door  at  the  inner  end 
will  open  to  you  ;  come,"  and,  seizing  her  hand,  he  walked 
boldly  up  to  the  portal  by  which  she  had  entered. 

"  Open,"  said  Elula.  At  once  a  lofty  room  with  many  win- 
dows appeared.  El  Starr  immediately  opened  one  of  these, 
and  bidding  Elula  to  return  to  the  marble  hall,  he  kissed 
her  cheek,  and  leaped  bravely  full  forty  feet  to  the  ground. 
Stunned,  but  undaunted,  he  soon  reached  the  lofty  door  by 
which  he  had  entered  the  palace.  "  Open  at  once,"  he  cried ; 
and,  as  before,  the  huge  doors  swung  sullenly  apart.  Through 
this  avenue  of  safety  the  nimble  Elula  bounded  with  a  cry  of 
delight.  "It  is  well."  said  the  Prince,  and  placed  the  magical 
leaf-fish  on  his  palm.  "Shall  I  kill  the  cats,  curly  fish?"  As 
before,  the  amulet  wriggled,  and  twisted,  and  squirmed,  and 
twirled,  and  at  last  fell  on  the  ground.  Upon  this,  they 
began  to  descend  the  mountain.  It  was  now  broad  day,  and 
before  long  they  saw  the  cats,  who  were  greedily  eating  their 


THE    CURLY  FISH.  ^27 


breakfast.  The  Prince  and  his  sweetheart  crept  up  as  near 
to  them  as  was  possible,  when  suddenly  El  Starr  drew  his 
cimeter,  and,  carrying  the  lady,  sprang  right  in  amono-  the 
lordly  pussies.  "  Miaou,"  said  the  biggest,  as  El  Starr  chopped 
off  his  tail.  In  an  instant,  the  lovers  had  reached  the  far  side 
of  the  cat-camp,  and  pursued  by  ten  thousand  grimalkins, 
fled  wildly  down  the  hill.  On  they  came,  galloping  down,  with 
their  backs  gathered  up  into  humps  like  those  of  the  round- 
shouldered  dromedaries  of  Abyssinia.  "  Allah,  save  us  !"  said 
the  Princess,  faindy,  as  they  saw  the  swift  stream  which  EI 
Starr  had  crossed  when  climbing  the  hill.  Never  pausincr, 
save  to  watch  a  moment  the  curly  fish  wriggle  assent,  with- 
out a  doubt,  El  Starr  seized  Elula  in  his  arms,  and  with  a 
tremendous  bound  leaped  some  dozen  feet  beyond,  and  over 
the  raging  water.  "Oh!"  said  the  Princess,  as  they  rolled  on 
the  grass.  "  Ha  !  ha  !"  laughed  El  Starr.  The  cats  smelt  the 
water,  and  would  not  go  in  ;  everybody  knows  that  cats  are 
very  averse  to  water.  Leaving  the  baffled  cats  and  the  roar- 
ing stream  behind  them.  El  Starr  and  Elula  peacefully  de- 
scended to  the  edge  of  the  marshy  plain, 

"Now,"  said  the  Prince,  "how  shall  we  get  over?" 

"  Positively,"  said  Elula,  "  I  can't  walk ;  I've  only  my  thin 
shoes.     Let  us  ask  curly  fish  whether  we  must  try  it." 

The  fish  was  put  upon  El  Starr's  open  hand,  and  being 
questioned,  instandy  doubled  himself  into  a  small  bundle. 
"Fishy,  we  shall  certainly  sink,"  said  the  Prince;  but  the  more 
he  doubted,  the  more  the  fish  wriggled,  so  the  lovers  at  once 
advanced  towards  the  marsh. 

As  they  turned  about  the  corner  of  a  dense  thicket,  Elula 


128  THE    CURLY  FISH. 


suddenly  seized  the  Prince,  and,  drawing  him  back,  pointed 
silently  towards  the  sleeping  figure  of  a  fat  old  man,  who  was 
snoring  away  like  a  live  organ  with  a  cold  in  its  head.  It  was 
the  Magician,  Ben  Muff,  who,  having  finished  his  two  bottles 
of  Shiraz  wine,  was  dozing  off  their  effects  in  the  warm  and 
pleasant  sunshine  on  the  grassy  hillside.  No  sooner  did  El 
Starr  behold  his  enemy  than  he  grasped  his  sword,  determined 
to  finish  him  in  the  most  effectual  manner. 

"No,  no,"  whispered  Elula,  hastily.  "Steel  cannot  harm 
him.  He  himself  has  told  me  that  until  he  is  eaten  alive  death 
cannot  approach  him ;  therefore  do  not  go  near  him.  Let  us 
rather  fiy  before  he  awakens." 

"  By  my  father's  beard,"  said  El  Starr,  "  if  I  leave  him  thus, 
may  love  desert  me  !"  After  a  few  moments  of  deep  thought, 
the  Prince  exclaimed,  "  I  have  it !  Do  you  hide  in  yonder 
thicket,  and  if  I  perish  in  my  folly  you  must  wait  until  night- 
fall and  then  try  to  make  your  escape." 

"  Kiss  me,  then,"  said  Elula  ;  and  he  did.  After  which  she 
sat  down  in  the  midst  of  the  thickly-clustered  roses. 

El  Starr  now  rolled  up  his  sleeves,  and,  selecting  a  bunch 
of  ripe  alderberries,  crept  silently  alongside  of  Abou  Ben 
Muff.  With  great  care  he  squeezed  the  purple  juice  of  the 
alders  into  his  own  palm,  and  with  a  knot  of  silk-grass  painted 
the  face  of  the  astrologer.  Often  El  Starr  paused  to  see  if 
Ben  Muff  still  slept ;  but  as  he  showed  no  sign  of  awakening, 
the  Prince  soon  succeeded  in  staining  his  face  of  a  very  fine 
purplish  red.  Next  he  removed  his  own  cloak,  and  with  it 
covered  over  the  body  and  legs  of  the  drunken  old  Magician. 
Still   he   slept  on,  and  finally  El   Starr  possessed  himself  of 


THE    CURLY  FISH. 


129 


the  sleeper's  cloak,  and  rapidly  retreated  to  a  clump  of  palms 
where  the  horse  of  Abou  Ben  Muff  was  quietly  grazing. 
In  haste  he  threw  himself  into  the  saddle.  Then  he  touched 
the  steed  with  his  heel,  and  with  a  fierce  and  violent  plunge 
the  animal  snorted  and  set  off  over  the  morass  with  the  speed 
of  the  simoon.  "Good,"  said  the  Prince.  In  the  distance 
were  three  of  the  hugfe  storks  who  dwelt  on  the  marshes.  To- 
wards  these  the  Prince  rode  with  all  possible  speed.  As  soon 
as  they  saw  him,  the  monstrous  birds  flapped  their  wings 
and  shouted  aloud.  The  Prince  crathered  the  Magician's  red 
cloak  about  him,  so  as  to  hide  the  lower  part  of  his  face,  and 
thus  prepared,  drew  rein  beside  the  birds.  "  Well,"  said  he, 
"  how  are  you,  my  pets  ?" 

"  Hungry  !"  said  all  three  at  once.     "  What's  for  dinner  ?" 

"  Not  much,"  said  El  Starr ;  "  only  a  black  fellow,  who  has 
fallen  asleep  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  just  below  the  palm- 
trees." 

"Great  is  Abou  Ben  Muff,"  said  the  storks,  and  without 
■delay  they  began  to  bound  over  the  soft  ground  with  awful 
leaps  and  outstretched  necks.  The  Prince  followed  as  fast  as 
he  could;  he  was  just  in  time  to  see  one  of  the  storks  pick  up 
Abou  Ben  Muff,  and  with  a  dexterous  chuck  pitch  him  head 
foremost  down  his  throat. 

"  Murder !"  cried  the  Magician,  as  he  went  down  with  a 
gulp.     "  Murder  !  help  !  it's  a  mistake  !" 

"Really,"  said  the  bird,  "you  ought  to  have  spoken  before. 
Bless  me,  how  fat  you  are,  ough  !" 

By  this  time  Elula  was  mounted  safely  behind  the  Prince. 
"  Look !"  she  screamed.     Well  he  mieht.     As  the  bird  bolted 


I  ^-o  THE    CURL  V  FISH. 


the  last  of  Abou  Ben  Muff  a  noise  like  a  o-reat  wind  was  heard, 
huge  columns  of  dust  arose,  the  ground  shook,  and  in  an  in- 
stant marsh  and  ocean,  hill  and  palace,  storks  and  cats  were 
gone.  A  bright  yellow  sun  looked  down  from  the  upper  sky, 
and  before  them  lay  waving  corn-fields,  orchards  of  olives,  and 
fig-trees,  festooned  with  vines,  neat  villages,  and  pleasant  little 
merry  streams.  As  the  lovers  rode  along  by  cottage  and 
palace  they  saw  no  human  face.  The  white  milk-pans  hung 
upon  the  fences  as  the  good  wife  had  left  them,  the  churn  stood 
in  the  door-way,  and  the  very  ovens  stood  half  open  with  their 
smouldering  fires  yet  lazily  smoking, 

"This  land  the  Magician  enchanted,"  said  Elula.  On  they 
rode,  over  the  distant  mountains,  by  lake,  stream,  and  village, 
until  at  last  they  entered  the  kingdom  of  El  Knobb ;  and  so 
El  Starr  broug-ht  back  to  the  KinQ^  of  Kurds  the  daughter 
whom  the  dwarf  had  stolen. 

Let  us  pass  over  the  rejoicings.  "  I  have  given  your  father 
his  kingdom  again,"  said  the  King  of  the  Kurds  one  day  to 
El  Starr,  as  they  sat  over  their  pipes,  "  What  will  you  have 
for  yourself?"  El  Starr  kept  silent.  "Well,  well,"  said  the 
King,  "  I  see ;"  and  so  he  married  the  Princess  to  El  Starr ; 
and  men  ceased  to  call  him  the  aimless,  and  thenceforth  he  was 
ever  known  as  El  Starr  the  Lucky. 

One  day  when  the  Prince  was  walking  with  his  wife  he 
began  to  talk  about  the  curly  fish.  "  Let  us  question  it,"  said 
she,  with  a  wicked  twinkle  in  her  eyes. 

"  Good !"  said  El  Starr,  and  he  put  the  fish  on  his  hand. 
"Does  she  love  me?"  said  he.     The  fish  actually  jumped. 

"  Can  he  jump  over  the  moon  ?"  asked  Elula. 


THE    CURLY  FISH.  131 


"What!"  exclaimed  El  Starr,  for  the  fish  still  curled  his 
back  up.     "  Nonsense,  my  dear,  the  thing  is  a  humbug." 

"Ah!"  said  the  Princess. 

"  I  begin  to  suspect,"  said  he. 

"  Do  you,  my  dear?"  added  the  lady. 

"  I  desire,"  said  the  Prince,  who  felt  rather  small, — "I  desire 
that  the  subject  may  never  be  spoken  of  again." 

And  as  the  years  fled  away,  there  grew  golden-feathered 
plumage  on  the  silver  arrow  of  El  Starr,  the  Prince. 


THE  WOLF  THAT  WANTED   A 

DOCTOR. 


■^i-i^ 


ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  wolf  who  was  growing  old. 
He  had  very  bad  teeth,  and  was  fond  of  eating  young 
lambs.  One  day,  when  he  could  get  no  more  tender 
food,  he  met  a  big  ram,  and,  being  hungry,  gobbled  him  up  so 
greedily  that  one  of  his  hard  horns  broke  the  wolf's  front  tooth 
off  and  gave  him  a  dreadful  aching,  day  and  night.  This  made 
him  so  cross  that  he  bit  off  the  tails  and  ears  of  all  the  young 
wolves,  until  one  of  them  said  to  him,  "  Papa,  why  do  you  not 
oo  to  the  doctor  and  o-et  cured  ?" 

"  Dear  me,  child,"  said  the  wolf,  "  that's  a  good  idea ;"  and 
so  saying,  he  started  off  Presently,  he  met  a  great  dog,  whose 
business  it  was  to  guard  the  sheep.  "Good-morning,  sir,"  said 
the  wolf;  "do  you  know  where  a  doctor  lives?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  dog;  "a  good  wolf  doctor  lives  yonder  in 
that  house.  Bow-wow  and  good-morning ;  I  must  see  after 
my  sheep,"  and  away  he  trotted. 

The  wolf  was  not  fond  of  houses;  but  his  tooth  hurt  him, 
and  he  walked  up  to  the  door,  holding  his  handkerchief  to  his 
face. 

There  were  two  litde  girls  at  the  door  who  saw  the  wolf, 
132 


THE    WOLF   THAT  WANTED   A    DOCTOR.  133 

and  ran  in,  crying  aloud,  "Father,  father,  here's  a  wolf!" 
Then  the  farmer  who  lived  there  seized  his  cfun,  and,  coming 
to  the  door,  fired  at  the  wolf,  but,  luckily  for  the  wolf,  did  not 
hurt  him.  The  farmer's  gun  was  full  of  pills,  but  not  the  kind 
to  cure  toothache. 

"I  don't  like  that  doctor's  medicine,"  said  the  wolf;  and  so 
saying,  he  ran  away  howling. 

By  and  by  he  met  a  monkey,  who  no  sooner  saw  his 
bloody,  fierce  face  than  he  climbed  up  a  tree  as  high  as  he 
could  get. 

"  Come  down,"  said  the  wolf,  ''  and  show  me  where  a  doctor 
lives." 

But  the  monkey  only  climbed  up  higher,  for  he  was  very 
much  scared.  Unluckily,  he  climbed  so  high  that  he  got  on  a 
small  branch  which  was  too  weak  to  bear  his  weifrht,  and  down 
he  tumbled  head  over  heels.  No  sooner  had  he  reached  the 
ground  than  the  wolf  ran  to  him,  and,  putting  one  foot  on  him, 
said,  sternly,  "  Show  me  where  a  doctor  lives,  or  I  will  kill 
you. 

"  Sir,"  said  the  monkey,  "  you  have  only  to  cross  the  bridge, 
and  take  two  turns  to  the  left,  and  nine  turns  to  the  right,  and 
seven  to  the  left,  and  there  you  will  find  Doctor  Duck,  who  is 
the  best  little  quack  in  all  the  country," 

"Just  so,"  said  the  wolf;  "get  up  and  show  me  the  way, 
and  look  sharp,  too,  how  you  go,  or  I  will  eat  you  before  you 
can  say  boo." 

"  How  can  I  get  up,  if  my  leg  be  broken  ?'  answered  the 
monkey. 

"Get  on  my  back,"  cried  the  wolf,  "and  that  quickly." 


134 


THE   WOLF  THAT  WANTED   A   DOCTOR. 


The  monkey  climbed  up  on  his  back  slowly,  as  though  he 
was  hurt,  and  the  wolf  galloped  away  with  great  speed. 
Presently,  the  monkey  tumbled  off  and  tried  to  run ;  but 
the  wolf  was  too  quick  for  him,  and  gave  him  such  a  nip  that 
he  was  glad  to  get  on  his  back  again  in  a  mighty  great  hurry. 
"I  shall  surely  be  eaten,"  said  the  monkey  to  himself.  Just 
then  they  came  to  a  muddy  place  where  the  wolf  had  to  go 
slowly,  which  gave  the  monkey  time  to  think.  So  he  said 
to  the  wolf,  "  Did  ever  you  try  a  mud-poultice  for  your  tooth- 
ache?    My  grandmother  says  It  is  a  first-rate  cure." 

"  How  do  you  use  it?"  said  the  wolf. 

"  Oh,  that  is  easy,"  answered  the  monkey ;  and  thus  saying, 
he  leaned  over,  and  taking  two  handfuls  of  mud,  quickly 
plastered  it  on  the  eyes  of  the  wolf.  While  he  was  jumping 
about  half  blind,  the  monkey  leaped  off  and  climbed  a  tree. 

"You  rascal,"  said  the  wolf,  "come  down." 

"  No,  sir,"  cried  the  monkey  ;  "  not  this  time.  Do  you  like 
my  grandmother's  poultice  for  spectacles  ?" 

"Bother  your  grandmother!"  said  the  wolf,  and  started  off 
once  more  to  find  a  doctor.  After  a  long  journey  he  met  a 
pig.  "  Piggy-wiggy,  niy  friend,"  said  the  wolf,  "  get  on  my 
back,  and  show  me  where  the  doctor  lives." 

"Just  over  there,"  replied  the  piggy,  who  was  so  much 
afraid  that  he  shook  all  over. 

"  Get  on  my  back,"  said  the  wolf. 

"I  don't  know  how  to  ride,"  said  piggy. 

"If  you  don't  go  on  top  of  me,  you  shall  go  inside  of  me," 
said  the  wolf,  fiercely.  "  Some  people  like  a  stage  better  than 
horseback,"  and  at  once  swallowed    the  pig  all    but  his  tail, 


THE    WOLF   THAT  WANTED   A    DOCTOR. 


^35 


which  stuck  out  of  the  wolf's  mouth  and  made  him  feel  very 
uncomfortable  and  much  more  ugly.  About  a  mile  farther  on 
he  came  to  a  little  pond,  and  on  the  far  side  he  saw  a  sign 
with  the  words, — 

DR.    DUCK,    SURGEON. 

"  Halloo !"  cried  the  wolf.  "  Doctor,  doctor,  come  over 
here  and  cure  me  of  my  toothache,  and  I  will  give  you  a  bag 
of  ^old." 

When  the  doctor  heard  this,  he  came  out  to  the  door,  and 
began  to  laugh.  "Ha!  ha!"  says  he;  "here  is  a  wolf  with 
two  tails  and  a  toothache.     What  gave  you  a  toothache?" 

"Oh,"  said  the  wolf,  "I  broke  my  tooth  cracking  nuts  for 
my  neighbor,  the  squirrel.     Come  over  quickly." 

"No  sir,"  answered  the  duck;  "I  won't  doctor  you.  I 
don't  like  patients  with  two  tails.  Your  disease  may  be 
catchinor." 

This  made  the  wolf  angry,  and  he  ran  away,  saying,  "  I 
will  eat  you  up  some  day  if  I  die  for  it."  In  a  few  moments 
he  met  a  very  long  snake,  who  was  one  of  his  friends.  When 
the  snake  heard  his  story,  he  said,  "I  will  help  you."  They 
waited  all  night,  and  early  in  the  morning  they  went  to  the 
pond  where  the  doctor  lived.  Then  the  wolf  took  the  end  of 
the  snake's  tail  and  tied  it  to  the  pig's  tail,  which  stuck  out  of 
his  own  mouth,  and  afterwards  the  snake  swam  under  the 
water  to  the  middle  of  the  pond  and  lay  quiet.  "  Halloo, 
Doctor  Duck  !"  cried  the  wolf,  "come  out  here  and  help  me." 
But  the  Doctor  Duck  only  looked  from  a  window  and  laughed. 

"  Here's  nine  worms  for  you,  and  a  frog,"  cried  the  wolf, 


136  THE   WOLF  THAT  WANTED   A   DOCTOR. 

"  if  you  will  only  swim  out  a  little  way,  and  tell  me  what 
to  do." 

Now  the  duck  thought  it  would  be  no  harm  to  go  just  a 
little  way,  so  he  swam  towards  the  wolf,  but  not  very  near. 

"  Come  nearer,"  said  the  wolf;  "I  am  old  and  deaf." 

So  then  the  duck  came  a  little  closer,  but  presently  he 
cried  aloud,  "Murder!  what's  that?  I  have  cramp  in  my 
toes."  For  just  then  the  snake,  who  had  waited  so  quietly, 
came  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  pond  and  seized  the  duck  by 
the  leg.  As  to  the  wolf,  he  ran,  and  this  pulled  the  snake's 
tail,  and  the  snake's  head  held  on  to  the  duck,  and  the  poor 
Doctor  Duck  was  drao^ofed  to  the  land,  where  the  wolf  seized 
him. 

"  Now,  sir,"  cried  the  wolf,  "  tell  me  how  to  cure  my  tooth- 
ache, or  I  will  eat  you." 

"  Nothing  will  cure  you,"  answered  the  duck,  "but  a  young 
chicken  four  days  old." 

"Very  good,"  said  the  wolf;  "get  me  one,  for  I  fear  to  go 
near  to  the  barn-yards." 

"Well,"  said  Doctor  Duck,  "let  me  go  to  get  one." 

"If  you  let  him  go,  he  will  never  come  back,"  cried  the 
snake. 

"Yes,"  said  the  wolf,  "that  is  true;"  and  at  once  he  bit 
off  the  duck's  left  leg,  saying,  "  I  will  keep  your  leg  here  for 
you  till  you  come  back  with  the  chick,  and  then  you  shall 
have  your  leg  again." 

"  Oh  dear !"  moaned  the  duck,  and  limped  away  on  one 
leg.  When  he  got  to  the  barn-yard,  he  got  behind  a  hedge 
and  tried  to  cluck  like  a  hen,  but  it  was  a  poor  attempt,  and 


THE   WOLF  THAT  WANTED  A   DOCTOR. 


"^^il 


the  chicks  chd  not  come.  While  the  duck  was  trying,  he  heard 
a  fox  laughing  at  him;  at  this  he  turned  and  said,  "Why  do 
you  laugh  at  me  ?" 

"I  am  laughing  at  your  fine  voice,"  answered  the  Fox. 
"What  are  you  trying  to  do?" 

"I  wish  to  catch  a  chick,"  said  the  duck,  "  to  cure  the 
wolf  of  a  toothache ;  but  I  much  fear  he  will  eat  me  after 
all." 

"  Oh,  I  will  help  you,"  said  the  fox,  for  he  was  just  then  in 
a  good  humor. 

"  I  am  glad,"  cried  Doctor  Duck  ;  "  and  what  a  pity  to  have 
to  give  a  poor  little  woolly  chick  to  that  wicked  wolf;  but  I 
suppose  I  must,  for  he  has  bitten  my  leg  off  and  will  not  give 
it  to  me  until  he  orets  a  chick." 

"A  good  joke,"  cried  foxy;  "but  we  will  fix  him;  you 
have  only  to  follow  my  advice  and  all  will  be  well."  So 
saying,  he  went  to  his  house  and  brought  out  a  clock.  "  Now," 
said  the  fox,  "I  will , show  you  how  to  catch  chicks,  and  you 
shall  cure  me  of  the  gout  when  I  eat  too  much."  Then  the 
fox  wound  up  the  clock  and  covered  it  with  leaves,  while  he 
and  the  duck  hid  close  by.  When  the  clock  began  to  tick  it 
made  a  sound  like  cluck,  cluck,  just  such  as  an  old  hen  makes. 
No  sooner  did  the  chicks  hear  it  than  they  came  through  the 
hedge,  and  the  fox  seized  one  of  them,  and  ran  away  followed 
by  the  duck.  Soon  they  came  to  the  pond,  and  there  sat  the 
wolf  very  grim  with  his  handkerchief  tied  around  his  sore  face. 
Now,  on  the  way,  the  fox  had  told  the  Doctor  Duck  what  to 
do.  When  the  wolf  saw  them,  he  said  to  the  duck,  "  You  are 
very  slow." 


I -8  THE   WOLF  THAT  WANTED  A   DOCTOR. 

"That's  because  I  have  only  one  leg,"  said  the  duck,  "and 
because  I  had  to  bring  Doctor  Fox  to  talk  over  your  case." 

The  fox  felt  the  wolf's  pulse,  and  took  hold  of  the  pig's 
tail  which  still  stuck  out  of  his  mouth.  "  It  is  very  tight," 
said  he. 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  wolf,  "  I  wish  it  was  not.  You  have 
no  idea  how  uncomfortable  it  is ;  but  quick,  where's  the 
chick?" 

"  Here,"  said  the  duck. 

"  I'll  hold  your  head,"  said  the  fox,  very  tenderly ;  and  so 
saying  he  took  hold  of  the  pig-tail. 

"  Open  your  mouth  and  shut  your  eyes,  Mr.  Wolf,"  cried 
the  Duck,  "  that  I  may  pass  the  chick  down  your  throat." 

No  sooner  had  the  wolf  shut  his  eyes,  than  the  fox  tied  the 
pig-tail  fast  to  the  root  of  a  tree,  and  the  duck  seized  his  leg 
and  the  chick,  and  ran  off  with  the  fox,  leaving  the  wolf  tied 
so  fast  that  he  never,  never  got  away. 

Then  the  duck  sewed  his  leg  on,  for  he  was  a  clever 
doctor.  And  as  for  the  fox,  he  took  the  chick  home  to  its 
mother,  which  was  the  best  thing  I  ever  heard  of  him,  and 
grew  to  be  a  good  fox,  and  never  stole  any  more. 


<>-^ 


..^:> 


OLD  WINE   IN  A  NEW  BOTTLE. 

— -^i-i^ — 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  white  elephant  named 
Ba  Ba.  He  was  washed  all  over  with  cream  every 
day,  and  had  nine  cows  all  for  his  own  use,  because 
white  elephants  are  rare.  This  one,  you  must  know,  was  the 
Caliph's  elephant,  and  was  a  great  pet  with  everybody. 

There  also  lived  in  the  town  a  litde  tailor  who  had  a  witch 
for  a  wife,  and,  as  the  tailor  was  very  lazy,  she  made  him  a 
gold  needle  which  did  any  kind  of  work  you  put  it  to.  All 
you  had  to  do  was  to  put  the  needle  on  the  cloth,  and  at  once 
it  would  dance  to  and  fro  and  through  and  through  until  the 
work  was  done  in  the  very  nicest  way.  To  be  sure,  it  was 
hard  to  make  it  cease,  for  it  was  such  a  busy  litde  one-eyed 
fellow  that  to  stop  it  you  had  to  seize  hold  of  the  thread  and 
drop  the  needle  in  a  litde  iron  box,  and  even  then  it  could  be 
heard  hopping  about  inside  ;  but  it  could  not  sew  the  iron,  you 
know. 

This  needle  brought  much  custom  to  the  tailor,  because  it 
did  the  work  so  well ;  for  no  one  liked  the  tailor,  who  was  a 
cross  fellow,  and  beat  his  litde  children  twice  a  day.  And,  in- 
deed, but  for  his  needle,  no  one  would  have  given  him  work 
to  do  at  all,  though  I  ought  to  say  that  folks  thought  he  him- 
self did  the   sewing.     But  he   never  did  do  any  at  all.     He 

139 


I40  OLD   WINE  IN  A   NEW  BOTTLE. 

liked  to  sit  in  his  window  with  his  legs  crossed,  and  make  be- 
lieve to  sew,  while  he  smoked  a  long  pipe.  Meanwhile,  he 
would  put  the  cloth  to  be  made  up  on  a  shelf  below  his  seat, 
and  would  place  the  needle  on  it,  and  would  laugh  to  see  how 
merrily  it  moved,  and  how  neatly  it  made  the  stitches  and  the 
button-holes.  He  had  to  be  very  quick  when  the  sewing  was 
done,  because  if  he  did  not  seize  the  needle  ever  so  cleverly 
it  would  sew  the  coat  all  up  into  such  a  heap  that  no  one  could 
eet  the  stitches  out  ao;ain. 

One  sunny  day  the  tailor  was  at  the  window  when  Ba  Ba 
came  by  and  put  his  trunk  up  to  ask  for  an  apple ;  but  this 
crusty  tailor  only  put  his  hot  pipe-bowl  to  Ba  Ba's  trunk  and 
burned  it,  which  made  the  elephant  roar,  while  the  tailor 
laughed  at  his  pain. 

Next  day  Ba  Ba  came  by  again  and  put  out  his  trunk  as 
usual,  for  he  did  not  think  any  one  would  be  willing  to  hurt 
him.  This  time  the  tailor  had  the  smart  litde  gold  needle  in 
his  hand,  and  was  about  to  put  it  away,  for  it  had  just  done 
sewing  a  red  coat  for  the  Caliph.  But  first,  he  thought,  I  will 
give  Ba  Ba  a  litde  prick  with  it,  and  then  he  will  dance  with 
pain.  So  he  stuck  Ba  Ba's  white  trunk  with  the  needle,  which 
made  him  give  a  loud  cry  and  jerk  away  his  trunk  so  quickly 
that  the  needle  stayed  fast  in  his  skin.  "  Oh  dear  !"  cried  the 
tailor ;  "  what  shall  I  do  ?"  for  he  did  not  dare  to  tell  that  he 
had  played  ugly  tricks  on  the  white  elephant,  which  was  the 
Caliph's  pet.  Meanwhile,  Ba  Ba  howled  and  ran  away  in 
great  pain,  because  the  busy  litde  needle  kept  sewing  away  at 
the  inside  of  his  trunk.  Just  fancy  what  pain  it  must  be  to 
have  a  needle  sewing  away  inside  of  you,  making  clever  litde 


OLD   WINE   IN  A    NEW  BOTTLE.  141 

button-holes  and  coats,  and  lots  of  things  to  wear,  out  of  your 
flesh. 

Ba  Ba  felt  as  if  he  had  a  toothache,  and  was  so  angry 
that  next  day  he  filled  his  trunk  full  of  nasty,  muddy  water, 
and,  as  he  came  by  the  tailor's  shop,  squirted  a  great  bucket- 
ful, at  least,  all  over  that  wicked  tailor,  and  his  wife,  and  his 
nine  children,  and  his  dinner,  and  the  cat,  and,  worse  than  all, 
over  the  red  coat,  which  was  ready  for  the  Caliph  to  wear. 

"  Now,"  said  the  tailor,  "  we  shall  all  be  killed  and  also 
beaten,  because  the  Caliph's  coat  is  spoiled." 

"Let  the  needle  make  another,"  cried  his  wife. 

Upon  this  the  tailor  had  to  tell  her  how  he  had  lost  the 
needle,  and  this  made  her  angry  enough,  because  she  had  been 
nine  years  making  the  gold  needle,  and  could  not  make  needles 
like  that  in  a  day,  just  when  they  were  wanted.  At  last  she 
o-ave  her  husband  some  orood  advice  as  to  what  he  should  do. 
She  told  him  to  take  the  coat  to  the  Caliph  and  say  that 
Ba  Ba  had  squirted  muddy  water  on  it ;  "  and  then,"  said  she, 
"  we  will  ask  the  Caliph  to  cut  off  Ba  Ba's  trunk  ;  and,  when 
it  is  off,  we  will  go  and  get  it  at  night,  and  find  the  needle 
inside  of  it ;  thus  Ba  Ba  will  be  made  to  suffer,  and  we  shall 
escape  being  beaten."  The  tailor  liked  this  advice  so  well  that 
he  took  the  coat,  and,  with  his  wife  and  children  all  over  mud, 
went  to  the  court  of  the  Caliph.  When  they  came  in,  the 
Caliph  laughed  to  see  such  a  funny-looking  party ;  but  when 
he  saw  his  coat,  and  heard  the  tailor's  story,  he  was  very 
angry,  and  cried  aloud,  "  Bring  Ba  Ba."  Now  Ba  Ba  was  very 
sick,  because  of  that  cruel  litde  needle,  which  never  ceased 
sewinor  the  inside  of  his  trunk,  and,  indeed,  it  hurt  him  so  much 


142  OLD   WINE  IN  A    NEW  BOTTLE. 


that  he  had  to  carry  his  trunk  in  a  great  silk  shng,  and  had  no 
comfort,  day  or  night. 

When  Ba  Ba  came  in  sight,  the  Caliph  said  to  the  tailor, 
"What  shall  be  done  to  the  white  elephant,  because  he  spoiled 
my  new  coat?" 

"Cutoff  his  trunk,"  cried  the  tailor's  wife,  "and  then  he 
will  not  be  able  to  play  such  nasty  tricks  any  more." 

"It  is  just,"  said  the  Caliph.     "  Cut  off  Ba  Ba's  trunk  and 

bury  it." 

So  soon  as  Ba  Ba  heard  this  sad  news,  and  saw  the  soldiers 
come  towards  him,  he  moaned  in  a  piteous  way,  and  ran  and 
put  the  end  of  his  trunk  in  the  lap  of  the  Caliph's  daughter, 
who  was  a  kind-hearted  Princess,  and  was  very  fond  of  white 
elephants. 

She  was  so  sorry  for  Ba  Ba  that  she  begged  her  father  not 
to  harm  him.  The  Caliph  said,  "  It  does  not  matter  much. 
W^e  will  wait  a  day  or  two." 

Now  the  Princess  saw  that  Ba  Ba  was  sick,  so  she  had  him 
put  in  a  great  garden  of  roses,  and  fed  him  with  lumps  of 
sugar  and  lady-apples  every  day.  But  the  needle  still  kept  on 
sticking  him,  so  that  at  last  he  fell  ill  and  lay  down  and  could 
not  get  up  at  all,  on  account  of  the  pain.  Then  the  Princess 
tried  all  the  elephant  doctors ;  but  one  said  he  had  hysterics, 
and  another  said  he  was  too  fat,  and  one  said  he  was  in  love. 
All  the  other  doctors  said  he  had  a  bad  cold  in  his  head,  and 
must  have  a  mustard  plaster  on  his  nose,  and  take  a  tubful  of 
castor  oil.  But  not  one  of  them  did  him  any  good,  and  there- 
fore the  Princess  made  a  man  cry  aloud  in  the  streets  for  a 
maeic  doctor  to  cure  her  dear  Ba  Ba. 


OLD   WINE  IN  A    NEW  BOTTLE. 


143 


As  soon  as  the  tailor's  witch  wife  heard  this  she  told  her 
husband  to  put  on  a  tall  hat,  and  a  big  beard,  and  a  wig,  so 
that  no  one  would  know  him,  and  to  go  to  the  Princess's 
palace,  reading  a  big  book  all  the  while  he  walked  through  the 
streets.  When  the  Princess  saw  him,  she  said,  "  What  a  wise 
mao"ic  doctor.  He  does  not  wish  to  waste  his  time  even  when 
he  walks."  So  she  took  him  to  the  garden  and  told  him  he 
should  have  a  great  stocking  full  of  gold  if  he  cured  Ba  Ba. 

But  the  tailor  was  afraid  to  go  near  to  the  elephant  in  the 
daytime ;  therefore  he  said  to  the  Princess,  "  I  must  not  lose 
time.  At  night  I  will  cure  Ba  Ba."  So  he  walked  up  and 
down,  as  though  he  were  reading,  but  really  he  could  not  read 
at  all.  When  night  came,  he  went  quietly  to  Ba  Ba  and  said, 
"I  see  you  have  a  thorn  in  your  trunk." 

This  made  Ba  Ba  trust  him  and  say  to  himself,  "This  doctor 
knows  a  thing  or  two." 

"  I  will  cut  it  out,"  said  the  tailor  ;  "  but  you  must  keep  very 
still." 

Ba  Ba  nodded  his  head,  as  much  as  to  say  yes.  At  this  the 
tailor  was  very  full  of  joy;  for,  thinks  he,  I  shall  soon  have  my 
needle  once  more.  Then  he  took  hold  of  Ba  Ba's  sore  trunk 
and  made  ready  a  little  knife  to  cut  out  the  needle.  But  all  of 
a  sudden  he  gave  a  loud  cry  of  pain  ;  for  what  do  you  think 
happened  ?  The  needle  was  sewing  away  so  fiercely  that 
it  sewed  the  tailor's  thumbs  fast  to  the  elephant's  trunk,  and 
then,  before  you  could  turn  around,  it  sewed  all  his  fingers 
fast  and  then  his  coat.  This  caused  Ba  Ba  to  roar  with  pain, 
and,  as  for  the  tailor,  he  howled  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  and 
pulled   to  get  away.     But  it  was  of  no   use  at  all,  for  that 


144 


OLD   WINE   IX  A    NEW  BOTTLE. 


dreadful  little  needle  sewed  away  until  the  tailor  was  stitched 
all  over.  At  last  Ba  Ba  got  up  and  hoisted  the  tailor  off  of  the 
eround  and  shook  him  in  the  air  ;  but,  dear  me,  you  know  it 
was  of  no  kind  of  use,  for  a  witch's  needle  sews  very  tight 
stitches.  At  last  the  two  made  such  a  noise  that  all  the  guards, 
and  the  Caliph,  and  the  Princess  came  out  with  torches,  to  see 
what  could  be  the  matter.  As  soon  as  the  Caliph  saw  the 
tailor  he  knew  him,  because  his  hat,  and  wig,  and  beard  had 
all  fallen  off  The  Princess  said  this  was  no  magic  doctor,  but 
only  a  vile  little  tailor. 

Now,  as  nothing  could  quiet  Ba  Ba,  who  was  rushing  about 
all  over  the  gardens,  the  Caliph  sent  for  his  head  Magician. 
When  the  wise  man  saw  Ba  Ba  he  called  to  him,  and  at  once 
the  wise  elephant  came  and  knelt  down  and  held  out  his  trunk, 
which  was  sewed  fast  to  the  tailor  with  twenty-five  thousand 
stitches.  As  soon  as  the  Magician  saw  what  was  the  trouble, 
he  cried  aloud,  "This  is  witch's  work." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  tailor,  "  my  wife  is  a  witch.  She  got  me 
into  this  scrape." 

No  sooner  was  this  known  to  the  Caliph  than  he  sent  an 
officer  to  fetch  the  witch  wife.  When  she  came,  the  Magician 
bade  her  take  her  witch  scissors  and  cut  the  stitches,  because 
nobody  else  could  ever  do  it.  As  it  was  it  took  her  a  week, 
because  she  had  to  catch  the  needle  first,  and  then  cut  all  the 
stitches  afterwards.  But  Ba  Ba  was  very  patient,  and  at  last 
he  was  set  loose  from  that  crusty  old  tailor. 

By  this  time  the  Magician  knew  all  about  the  witch  needle, 
and  how  the  tailor  had  teased  Ba  Ba,  the  elephant ;  and  when 
the  Caliph  heard  how  cruel  and  wicked  the  tailor  was  he  said 


OLD   WINE    IN  A    NEW  BOTTLE. 


145 


that  he  and  his  wife  should  be  put  to  death.  It  was  lucky  for 
both  of  them  that  the  Princess  was  near  just  then,  because  she 
was  so  gentle  that  she  could  not  bear  to  have  any  one  killed. 
So  she  begged  the  Caliph  not  to  kill  them,  but  only  to  cut  off 
the  tailor's  nose,  as  he  had  wished  to  cut  off  poor  Ba  Ba's  trunk. 
Now  the  tailor's  witch  wife  was  so  very  glad  not  to  be  killed 
that  she  went  to  the  good  Princess  and  told  her  that  Ba  Ba 
was  not  a  real  white  elephant,  but  a  beautiful  young  Prince, 
who  had  been  enchanted,  and,  besides  this,  the  witch  wife  went 
into  the  garden  and  cast  some  water  on  Ba  Ba,  and  said  three 
stranee  words,  which  no  one  knew  but  herself.  And  no  sooner 
were  these  said  than  there  was  a  great  smoke,  and  when  it 
blew  away,  Ba  Ba  was  gone,  and  there  stood  a  handsome  young 
Prince.  And  folks  do  say  that  he  married  the  Princess.  As 
to  the  tailor,  his  nose  was  cut  off  and  buried,  but  his  witch 
wife  dug  it  up  and  sewed  it  on  again.  Only  she  was  in  such  a 
hurry  that  she  put  it  on  upside  down  ;  so  that  whenever  the 
rain  fell  it  got  full  of  water,  and  what  was  worse  than  that, 
whenever  the  tailor  wanted  to  blow  his  nose  he  had  to  stand 
on  his  head,  because,  you  see,  his  nose  was  downside  up,  or,  as 
some  people  say,  upside  down. 


10 


REAL   MAGIC. 

— -^i-i^ — 

A  GOOD  while  ago  I  knew  two  little  children  who  lived 
in  a  nice  old  house  in  the  country.  There  was  a  wood 
behind  it  full  of  squirrels,  and  acorns,  and  chestnut- 
trees,  and  birds,  and  crooked  sticks  which  were  good  for  shin- 
nies, and  lots  of  jolly  things  such  as  boys  like  to  have.  On 
one  side  of  this  wood,  and  around  the  house,  flowed  a  little 
brook,  -where  frogs  lived,  and  minnows  and  speckled  newts. 
If  you  had  sharp  eyes  and  looked  cleverly,  I  should  not  wonder 
if  you  might  also  have  found  there  little  crayfish  under  the 
stones.  It  was  a  good  brook  to  build  dams  across  ;  and  in 
one  place  there  was  a  fine  large  pond,  where  boys  could  sail 
boats. 

I  used  to  think  the  garden  the  nicest  part  of  all,  because  it 
was  full  of  tall  box,  with  no  end  of  crooked  walks,  that  were 
first-rate  for  hide  and  seek. 

In  this  nice  old  house  lived  a  boy  and  girl.  Their  names 
were  Tommy  and  Annie.  These  children  had  as  pleasant  a 
time  as  any  that  I  ever  knew,  because,  after  their  lessons,  there 
was  so  much  to  see  and  to  do  in  the  barn-yard  and  fields,  in 
the  wood,  and  by  the  brook.  After  they  had  raced  and  chased 
all  day,  when  the  autumn  evenings  were  growing  long,  they 
most  loved  to  go  and  see  their  aunt,  who  sat  in  the  library  at 
146 


REAL    MAGIC.  i^j 


that  time  poking  the  wood-fire,  and  thinking  all  by  herself,  till 
of  a  sudden  this  boy  and  girl  would  scamper  in  and  shout  a 
verse  or  two  of  poetry  about  "This  is  th-e  Children's  Hour." 
I  ought  to  say  that  if  you  are  a  little  boy  or  girl,  and  have  an 
old  uncle  or  aunty  who  likes  to  sit  still  in  the  twilight,  and  not 
ever  tell  stories  at  all,  you  have  only  to  learn  those  verses 
about  "  This  is  the  Children's  Hour,"  and  say  them  to  that  old 
aunty  or  uncle.  And  I  think  if  you  try  this  you  will  find  out 
that  those  little  verses  are  a  kind  of  charm  at  twilight  to  make 
big  folks  do  whatever  the  little  folks  wish.  When  you  all  rush 
in  and  cry  those  nice  verses,  which  I  advise  you  to  learn,  saying, 
"This  is  the  Children's  Hour,"  you  will  be  sure  to  get  a  story, 
and  will  be  such  clever  fairies  that  you  will  make  some  of  the 
grown  folks  feel  like  crying ;  and  I  suppose  you  had  better  not 
ask  them  why. 

Whenever  Tommy  and  Annie  ran  in  and  asked  for  stories, 
their  aunt  was  always  ready;  and,  when  she  could  not  think  of 
any  more,  she  knew  just  where  to  find  the  books  about  the 
fairies,  and  giants,  and  witches,  and  gnomes,  and  about  Laun- 
celot,  and  Bedivere,  and  Gawain,  and  Tristram,  and  the  Seven 
Champions.  i\lso  she  knew  stories  about  the  sea-gods,  and 
mermaids,  and  flying-fish,  and  a  long  story  of  an  ancient  mar- 
iner. I  couldn't  tell  you  the  names  of  all  the  stories  this  good 
aunt  knew. 

The  stories  Annie  liked  most  were  about  those  true  knights 
of  King  Arthur;  but  Tommy  had  rather  have  heard  about  en- 
chanted places,  and  how  young  princes  were  turned  into  dogs 
and  horses  when  the  sorcerers  sprinkled  them  with  water,  and 
said,  "Abracadabra,"  and  "  Crononhotontholooos." 


148  REAL   MAGIC. 


These  two  children  liked  stories  so  much  that  when  they 
were  away  in  the  woods  they  used  to  act  them.  Annie  would 
say,  "  Now  be  a  giant,  and  I  will  be  Jack,  and  kill  you."  Or 
they  would  go  to  a  great  rock,  which  was  hollowed  out  beneath, 
and  which  they  called  the  robber's  cave.  Here  Annie  had 
their  treasures,  such  as  bits  of  broken  china  and  looking-glass, 
two  lame  dolls,  some  shells,  and  an  old  kitchen-knife,  which 
made  a  fine  cimeter  for  the  captain  of  the  robbers  when  they 
played  Ali  Baba. 

Now  Tommy  had  been  thinking  that  it  would  be  a  very 
jolly  thing  to  try  a  litde  magic  in  good  earnest,  but  it  took  him 
a  long  time  to  get  everything  ready.  For  first  he  must  have 
a  gold  rod,  and  this  was  very  hard  to  get;  and  then  there 
must  be  candles.  There  was  a  certain  Master  Frank,  who 
was  a  big  brother  of  Tommy's,  and  who  had  come  home  trom 
school  to  stay  for  a  litde  while.  Tommy  thought  he  would  get 
him  to  help  him,  because  he  felt  sure  that  all  big  brothers 
must  know  a  good  deal  about  magic,  and  all  that  kind  of  thing. 
So  Tommy  and  Frank  had  some  long  talks,  and  Frank  amused 
himself  a  good  deal  with  telling  Tom  how  to  try  real  magic. 

At  last,  one  afternoon.  Tommy  asked  Annie  to  go  to  the 
rock  with  him,  and  when  he  got  there  he  made  her  sit  down, 
and  told  her  that  he  was  going  to  try  some  real  magic.  At 
first  she  was  a  litde  afraid,  but  by  and  by  she  agreed  to  it; 
and  then  he  showed  her  that  he  had  two  half  candles,  which 
the  cook  had  given  him  as  a  great  favor.  As  for  the  gold  rod, 
which  no  magician  can  do  without,  he  told  her  he  had  been  a 
good  deal  puzzled  ;  but  at  last  he  had  borrowed  his  aunt's  gold 
pencil-case.     This  pleased  Annie  very  much,  and  they  talked 


REAL    MAGIC.  149 


about  it  till  it  was  getting  to  be  towards  dusk  ;  for,  as  Tom 
said,  "it  was  of  no  use  to  try  magic  in  tlie  daylight."  When 
the  woods  were  becoming  dark,  and  full  of  evening  shadows, 
Tom  said  it  was  time.  So  he  took  a  bit  of  chalk  and  drew  a 
circle,  and  told  Annie  that  she  must  not  move  beyond  it,  or 
else  the  fairies  would  carry  her  off  to  Fairy-land.  This 
frightened  Annie,  and  she  said  they  had  better  not  try  any 
mao-ic  this  time,  which  made  Tom  tell  her  "  she  was  a  coward, 
just  like  all  girls."  By  and  by  he  lighted  his  two  candles,  and 
stuck  them  in  the  ground,  which  made  a  big  enough  candle- 
stick. Then  he  piled  up  some  leaves  in  the  middle  of  the 
circle  and  liofhted  them,  so  as  to  cause  a  famous  smoke. 

Now  all  this  while  the  children  did  not  know  that  Frank 
was  hiding  behind  the  big  rock,  and  was  quiedy  laughing  to 
himself  until  he  was  almost  choked.  You  may  be  sure  he 
thought  it  funnier  than  ever  when  Tom  said  to  Annie,  "  Now  I 
am  going  to  try  the  real  magic,  and  don't  you  be  afraid." 

"  Oh,  dear  !"  said  Annie  ;  "  but,  perhaps,  when  you  say  the 
words,  and  move  your  wands,  perhaps  the  great  giant,  Blun- 
derbore,  will  come  and — and — and  gobble  us  up." 

"  No,"  said  Tom,  "  we  will  only  call  good  fairies,  and  very, 
very  little  people." 

This  comforted  Annie,  and  Tom  began  to  wave  his  gold 
rod  and  say,  "  Abracadabra,"  and  all  sorts  of  queer  words  out 
of  fairy  books.  At  last  he  said,  "  Hop  o'  my  Thumb,  come 
quickly,"  for  you  must  know  he  was  just  a  litde  afraid  himself; 
and  Hop  o'  my  Thumb  was  the  smallest  one  of  all  the  fairy 
folk  he  could  think  of.  As  soon  as  he  said  the  words,  the  two 
children  almost  held  their  breaths.     In  a  moment  they  heard 


150  REAL   MAGIC. 


pit  pat,  pit  pat,  behind  the  rock,  and  this  was  Frank,  just  for 
fun  tapping  on  the  dead  leaves,  to  make  them  fancy  it  was  Hop 
o'  my  Thumb  walking.  You  may  guess  how  still  they  kept. 
Pretty  soon  the  noi'se  ceased,  and  yet  no  one  was  seen.  At 
this  Tom  grew  bolder. 

"  I  heard  him,"  said  he. 

"And  I,  too,"  said  Annie. 

"Who  shall  we  call  next?" 

"Suppose  you  call  for  Whittington's  cat?" 

"  Cats  are  not  fairies.  It  wouldn't  be  any  use,"  answered 
Tom. 

Just  then,  Frank,  who  was  lying  behind  the  rock,  cried 
aloud,  "  Meyou  !" 

"Oh,  dear!"  whispered  Annie;  "there  it  is.  Please  be 
careful  not  to  say  any  names  like  Cormorant  or  Blunderbore !" 

Master  Frank  heard  her,  and  roared  out,  "Fee  fau  fum ; 
I  smell  the  blood  of  an  Englishmun  !" 

"Oh,  my!  oh,  dear!"  sobbed  Annie;  "call  Jack  the  Giant- 
killer,  quick." 

"We  had  better  run,"  says  Tom. 

"  Boo  !  I'm  hungry  for  babies  !"  roared  Frank.  And,  when 
they  heard  this,  my  goodness  how  they  scampered.  It  was 
nearly  dark,  but  they  ran  ever  so  fast,  and  were  glad  enough 
to  get  out  of  the  wood.  As  to  Frank,  he  walked  after  them 
lauehino;  fit  to  kill  himself 

When  he  came  to  the  house,  he  found  Tom  and  Annie 
sitting  in  the  corner  of  the  library,  just  like  two  little  mice. 
Frank  only  said  to  them,  "  You  were  very  late  in  the  wood ; 
did  you  see  any  fairies  ?"     As  for  the  children,  they  were  so 


REAL    MAGIC.  j-] 


scared  that  they  could  hardly  close  their  eyes  that  night.  For 
my  part,  I  think  that  anybody  but  Tom  would  have  had  enough 
of  magic  by  this  time,  and  I  suppose  that  he  would  never  have 
tried  it  again  if  Frank  had  not  helped  him. 

One  day,  about  a  week  after  the  fright  in  the  wood,  Tom 
wanted  to  roast  some  chestnuts  at  the  kitchen  fire  ;  but,  as  it 
was  near  tea-time,  the  old  black  cook,  whose  name  was  Judy, 
shouted,  "  Clare  out."  Tom  ran  out  of  one  door  and  in  at 
another  until  the  old  cook  lost  all  patience,  and  told  him  he 
was  "  the  perseverenest  chile  dat  eber  she  seed." 

By  this  time  Tom  was  growing  mischievous,  so  he  ran  to 
the  dresser  and  took  some  water  and  sprinkled  cookey,  and 
cried  out  in  a  great  solemn  voice,  "You  old  black  cookey,  be 
a  sheep  right  away." 

"  Dat's  pretty  talk,"  said  Judy,  and,  as  quick  as  could  be, 
she  seized  Tom,  who  was  waiting  to  see  her  turn  into  a  sheep, 
and  what  did  she  do  but  tie  a  great  dish-cloth  to  the  tail  of  his 
jacket,  and  then  let  him  go.  Tom  was  so  angry  at  this  dis- 
grace that  he  went  and  told  his  good  aunty,  who  only  smiled, 
and  said  he  should  keep  out  of  the  kitchen,  which  was  not  the 
place  for  boys.  Poor  Tom  found  little  comfort  in  this,  and 
w'ent  away  crying,  to  find  Frank. 

"  Halloo,  old  fellow,"  says  Frank,  "  quit  crying.  I  know  a 
boy  as  had  a  grandmother  as  knew  a  boy  who  cried  so  hard 
he  drowned  himself     What's  the  matter?" 

'T  wanted  to  roast  chestnuts,"  says  Tom,  "and  Judy  tied 
a  dish-cloth  to  me, — to  my  jacket, — and  I  threw  water  on  her, 
and  told  her  to  be  a  sh-sh-sheep,  and  she  didn't." 

"Perhaps,"  said  Frank,  full  of  fun,  "you   did  not  sprinkle 


152 


REAL   MAGIC. 


her  enough ;  she's  a  monstrous  big  old  cookey,  and  you  are  a 
very  small  magician."  Then  keeping  a  grave  face,  he  gave 
Tom  some  advice  about  magic,  which,  I  fear,  was  rather 
naughty  ;  for  what  do  you  think  happened  ?  Tom  listened  to 
Frank,  and  without  saying  a  word,  but  very,  very  angry  at 
cookey,  he  went  straight  down  to  the  kitchen  and  said,  "  How 
dy'e  do,  Judy?     Please  to  give  me  a  drink." 

Now  Judy  was  good-natured,  like  all  fat  cooks,  so  she  gave 
him  a  ladle  of  cool  water,  and  stooped  down  to  tie  his  shoe, 
which  was  unlaced.  As  quick  as  could  be  Tom  said,  "  Be  a 
sheep  this  time,  you  bad  old  cookey,"  and  poured  the  ladle  full 
of  water  down  the  back  of  her  neck. 

"  Bress  us!"  says  Judy,  and  she  picked  up  Master  Tom  and 
tucked  him  under  her  arm,  and  took  him  away  to  his  aunt. 
Tom  roared  and  kicked,  but  Judy  held  him  tightly ;  and,  when 
she  found  his  aunt,  she  told  all  about  how  Tom  had  called  her 
a  sheep.  And  then  Tom  had  nothing  to  say,  but  to  blubber 
and  promise  to  be  a  good  boy,  until  Frank  came  in  and  told 
his  aunt  how  he  had  put  Tom  up  to  this  last  trick,  and  also 
about  the  magic  in  the  woods.  His  aunt  was  very  much  vexed, 
and  gave  him  a  nice  long  scolding,  you  may  be  sure.  As  to 
Tom,  he  was  not  allowed  to  hear  another  story  for  six  weeks, 
until  one  night,  when  he  came  in  sofdy,  and  got  behind  his 
aunt  and  whispered,  "This  is  the  children's  hour." 

"  Ah !"  said  she ;  and  so  the  two  children  sat  down,  one  on 
each  side  of  her,  and  she  told  them  a  long,  long  story,  about 
the  fairy  Contenta,  who  turned  rags  into  velvet,  and  dust  into 
gold,  and  old  crusts  into  apple-dumplings, — one  of  the  jolliest 
kind  of  stories  that  ever  anybody  heard. 


THE  TALE   OF  THE   GREAT 
GIANT,   SMOKEY   POKEY. 

— -^i-i^ — 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  lived  In  the  mountains  of  the 
moon  a  great  giant,  who  lay  all  day  on  his  back,  and 
smoked  a  pipe  as  big  as  a  stove.  He  was  so  huge 
that  the  people  brought  him  presents  in  harvest-time,  and 
begged  him  to  go  to  sleep  for  a  month,  because  if  he  stood  up 
he  got  in  the  way  of  the  sun,  and  kept  the  grain  from  growing 
ripe. 

This  giant  had  a  son  who  was  no  larger  than  most  folks, 
but  who  was  as  vicious  and  wicked  and  cunning  as  a  fox. 
One  day  he  went  away  on  a  journey,  and  when  he  came  back 
he  said  to  his  father,  "  Pick  me  up  ;  I  have  something  to  say." 
Smokey  Pokey  set  him  on  his  hand  and  listened.  "  I  have 
seen  a  beautiful  Princess,"  continued  his  son,  "and  I  wish  to 
marry  her.  I  have  only  nine  wives  ;  I  have  asked  the  King, 
her  father,  to  give  her  to  me,  and  he  will  not." 

"  Then,"  said  the  giant,  "  we  will  eat  him.  Go  and  tell  him 
this." 

Accordingly  his  son  set  off,  and  the  next  month  reached 
the  King's  court,  where  he  found  a  young  Prince,  who,  having 
come  with  a  orgeat  retinue  to  woo  the  Princess  Sweet  Cheeks, 


154  THE    TALE   OF  THE    GREAT  GIANT, 

she  had  promised  to  love  him  for  ever  and  ever.  When  the 
King  heard  the  message  of  Smokey  Pokey,  he  cried  aloud, 
"  I  shall  never  give  my  daughter  to  such  a  cruel,  ugly  litde 
wretch  as  you.  I  will  give  her  to  whoever  is  brave  enough  to 
kill  the  giant." 

"Then,"  said  the  Prince,  "I  will  go.  Make  your  mind 
easy.  In  a  year  and  a  day  I  shall  be  with  you  again."  Thus 
saying,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  away  swifdy,  kissing 
his  hand  to  the  Princess.  Meanwhile,  the  giant's  son  also  de- 
parted. So  soon  as  they  met  outside  of  the  city  the  Prince 
said  to  the  giant's  son,  "  You  are  a  mean  and  cruel  man  to 
carry  so  base  a  message.  Prepare  to  die,  for  I  shall  surely 
kill  you." 

Upon  this  the  giant's  son  fled,  but  the  Prince  soon  over- 
took and  slew  him.  Then  he  put  on  the  clothes  of  the  giant's 
son,  and  cut  off  his  own  beard,  so  as  to  be  as  like  him  as  possi- 
ble. After  a  long  journey,  he  came  to  the  casde  of  the  giant, 
and  found  him  sitting  on  the  hillside  smoking  a  mighty  great 
pipe,  so  that  he  could  hardly  be  seen  for  the  smoke.  After  the 
Prince  had  sneezed  for  a  day,  he  was  able  to  talk,  and  then  he 
said  to  the  giant,  imitating  his  son's  voice,  "  Papa,  I  have 
changed  my  mind ;  the  Princess  is  ugly ;   I  do  not  want  her." 

"  Bah  !"  said  the  giant.  "  No  matter  ;  it  is  long  since  I  ate 
a  Kinor ;  I  shall  eat  them  both." 

At  this  the  Prince  was  in  despair ;  but  he  hid  his  vexation 
and  said,  "Well,  let  us  set  out." 

The  giant  arose  at  once  and  started  off,  leaving  the  Prince 
to  follow  him.  The  first  night  the  Prince  caught  up  to  him 
and,  finding  him  asleep,  took  his  sword  and  tried  to  stab  him, 


SMOKE  V  P  ORE  V.  j  ^  - 


but  his  skin  was  as  tough  as  sole-leather,  and  the  giant  only 
rolled  about  and  cried  out,  "  How  bad  the  mosquitoes  are  !" 

"I  must  delay  his  journey,"  thought  the  Prince,  "and  get 
time  to  think  a  little  as  to  what  I  shall  do."  So  he  found  the 
giant's  shoes  near  by,  and  built  a  big  fire  in  them  and  burned 
them  both,  so  that  they  were  good  for  nothing. 

"  Dear  me,"  cried  Smokey  Pokey,  when  he  awoke  and  saw 
what  had  happened,  "this  is  queer."  But  in  a  moment  he 
went  to  a  river  near  by,  and  took  two  ships  and  tore  out  the 
masts,  and  kicked  in  the  decks,  and  put  one  foot  in  each  ship, 
and  walked  away  with  these  new  shoes,  saying,  "  They  fit  well 
enough,  but  they  must  be  full  of  rats,  for  something  is  trying 
to  nibble  my  toes," 

After  another  day's  journey  the  giant  lost  his  way,  and, 
when  the  Prince  caught  up  with  him,  he  said,  "  These  hills  are 
very  steep  ;   which  is  the  right  road  ?" 

"  Come  here,"  said  the  Prince,  and  led  the  giant  always  on 
the  side  of  a  great  mountain,  around  and  around  for  a  week. 

At  last  said  Smokey  Pokey,  "  It  seems  to  me  that  my  left 
leg  is  too  long,  and  my  right  leg  too  short !" 

"What  a  dreadful  hill,  papa!"  answered  the  Prince.  "If 
you  were  to  cut  your  left  leg  a  little  shorter,  you  could  walk 
better  on  the  hillside." 

"Yes,"  said  the  giant,  who  was  as  stupid  as  he  was  big, 
"  that's  a  good  idea."  So  he  cut  off  five  yards  of  his  left  leg, 
and  found  he  fitted  the  side  of  the  hill  very  nicely.  But  next 
day  the  Prince  began  to  go  in  the  other  direction,  which  caused 
the  giant  to  hop  like  a  grasshopper  and  to  cry  out  with  fatigue. 
At  last  he  grew  angry,  and,  seizing  the  Prince,  gave  him  a 


156  THE    TALE    OF   THE    GREAT   GIANT, 

squeeze  which  nearly  mashed  him.  "  You  young  rascal,"  said 
he,  "  you  have  lamed  me  for  life ;  I  shall  never  find  my  leg 
again,  and  I  shall  die  without  having  eaten  a  King.  Tell  me 
quickly,  you  who  are  so  cunning,  what  I  shall  do,  or  I  will 
kill  you  !" 

"  Sire,"  answered  the  Prince,  "  there  lives  near  here  a  great 
sorceress,  who  will  turn  you  into  a  dog,  so  that  you  can  run 
furiously ;  and,  when  you  are  near  the  King's  palace,  she  shall 
turn  you  into  a  giant  again." 

"Good,"  replied  Smokey  Pokey;  "bring  her  at  once." 
Upon  this  the  Prince  left  him,  and  after  a  week  came  back 
with  his  fairy  godmother,  who  was  the  cleverest  little  Magician 
in  the  world.  When  she  heard  the  giant's  request,  she  told 
the  Prince,  in  a  whisper,  that  he  must  be  careful,  because  she 
would  have  to  turn  the  giant  into  his  own  shape  again  if  she 
promised  to  do  so.  "  Leave  the  rest  to  me,"  answered  the 
Prince.     "Only  turn  him  into  a  dog;  I  ask  no  more." 

By  this  time,  Smokey  Pokey,  who  was  very  impatient,  cried 
out,  "  Promise  to  change  me  into  a  giant  again  when  we  get 
near  the  palace." 

"Yes,"  said  the  fairy,  "  I  promise."  Then  the  fairy  touched 
him  with  her  wand,  and  cried  aloud  some  Persian  words,  when 
instantly  a  dog  as  big  as  an  elephant  stood  on  the  hill,  and 
there  was  no  longer  a  giant.  Then  they  trotted  along  slowly, 
till  at  lenofth  the  Prince  saw  a  swift  little  hare  run  out  of  the 
wood !  As  soon  as  the  giant  dog,  Smokey  Pokey,  espied  it, 
he  began  to  bark  awfully  and  to  leap  about.  But  when  the 
Prince  cried  out,  "Hist!  catch  him,  Towser,"  Smokey  Pokey 
set  off"  after  the  hare  at  a  great  rate,  and  was  soon  lost  to  view. 


SMOKE  V  POKE  V.  1-7 


As  to  the  fairy  and  the  Prince,  they  laughed  for  a  week,  be- 
cause this  was  a  magic  hare,  which  no  dog,  big  or  little,  ever 
could  catch  ;  and  I  suppose  that  poor  Smokey  Pokey  may  be 
hard  after  him  yet. 

This  I  do  know,  that  he   never  came   back,  and   that  the 
young  Prince  married  the  lovely  Princess  Sweet  Cheeks. 


THE    END. 


..M'*'-^ 


^T?-,.'**. 


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